Veterinarians are seeing more cases of dogs who are high on pot than they have in recent memory, according to a newspaper report from Colorado.
We used to see maybe one case a year, Stacee Santi, a veterinarian in Durango, Colo., told the Durango Herald. Now were seeing a couple a month.
Why the increase? In part, because medical marijuana has made the herb more accessible. It also helps that pot is rather appealing to the canine palate.
Dogs love the stuff, veterinarian Jennifer Schoedler said. Ive seen them eat the buds, plants, joints, and marijuana in food.
And sometimes people who are operating in the Land of High decide it would be fun to blow marijuana smoke on a dog’s face to see it get stoned.
Dogster’s very own Eric Barchas, DVM, devotes a page on his website to marijuana intoxication in pets. He writes:
Serious long-term health consequences and fatality from marijuana intoxication are essentially unheard of. However, pets that are exposed to marijuana may display anxiety and disorientation, and are prone to ‘bad trips.’ “
Here are some more symptoms, taken directly from Dr. Barchas’s pot and pets page:
Drooling, vomiting, and diarrhea may occur.
After exposure to marijuana, pets may lose bowel and bladder control. This results in house soiling.
Extreme responses to noises, movements, and other forms of sensory stimulation may occur in pets that are exposed to marijuana. These responses can manifest as trembling or jerking of the head or extremities.In severe cases, the responses may appear similar to seizures.
That doesn’t sound like much fun at all. This isn’t your hang-out-and-be-very-mellow-and-eat-anything-you-can high. Dogs tend to react a little (or a lot) differently to some substances than we do.
Some people use marijuana to medicate their dogs who have bad arthritis or other painful maladies. I wonder if the reaction to pot is different in dogs who need relief from pain than it is from pain-free dogs? Have you heard of people doing this, and if so, do you know how things turned out?
(Additional source: SF Weekly)
