Humans aren’t the only creatures with an endocannabinoid system. If people can benefit from medical marijuana, animals can, too. That’s why veterinarians are coming out in support of giving cannabis to your pets.
Of course, there are considerations to take into account before dosing your dog’s food bowl with a THC tincture. The research surrounding human consumption of cannabis still has a long ways to go, especially before scientists even start to look at how the plant affects organisms like dogs and cats. (Of course, there is ample evidence from clinical studies in regard to how weed affects rats and mice.)
So for starters, you don’t want to get your pet too high without knowing whether they’ll enjoy it or become nervous. That said, if your pet suffers from ailments like inflammation (bigger dogs are known to have hip problems, for instance), fatigue, appetite loss, seizures, or even anxiety, cannabis can help, just as it does with humans.
Both THC, the main psychoactive compound in cannabis, as well as CBD, a non-psychotropic compound, are useful in treating the above mentioned ailments, and more. However, your dog or cat likely can’t handle as much THC as you can — hence you’ll want to give them a smaller dose, or better yet a formulation crafted specifically for pets so as to ensure that they can manage the weed and ingest only very low levels of THC.
Most cannabis products made specifically for pets contain high levels of CBD, and come in the form of treats, tinctures, capsules, topicals, and so forth. There’s even cannabis-infused bird seed. For animals, cannabis is vastly more medicinal than it is recreational — however we can’t really be sure. (Your dog or cat could be a way bigger stoner than you gave them credit to be.)
While it may be difficult to diagnose your pet with a condition like anxiety, those that suffer from seizures or cancer, for instance, will most obviously benefit from cannabis. Up to five percent of all dogs have seizures; however, CBD has been proven to drastically reduce the number of seizures a patient experiences. So far, there have been no drawbacks to giving CBD to animals. There are even veterinarian-formulated CBD products to treat more serious conditions like seizures.
For cancer, as well, CBD and other cannabis products have been shown to not only treat the symptoms of cancer, but also help reduce the growth of tumors. One dog in Chicago, for instance, had bone cancer when her owner began treating her with Canna Companion, a supplement for pets. Within a few days, Leah, a seven-year-old Great Dane, was able to walk again.
Stories like this one are common and prove that cannabis can help more than just animals, but any creature with an endocannabinoid system that functions specifically to regulate physiological functions and receive cannabis compounds.
