What To Do If Your Pet Eats Your Weed

You come home from a long day of work and are ready to relax with some nice tasty spacecake. You reach for your stash but it is not there. You remember you left it out on the counter and run around looking for it, in the corner you discover your four legged friend licking the wall and moaning. From the looks of it he got into your weed. What do you do?

THE EFFECT OF THC ON PETS

Although there are CBD-infused treats for pets, THC has a much different effect on them. When a pet has consumed marijuana it can be a very nervous time for owners. Some pets can go into seizures and the effects of THC on your pet can last for days making them extremely unhappy.

With the enormous growth in cannabis infused edibles over the past few years, the chance of your pet trying to have a taste has increased dramatically. Reports show that dogs account for around “96 percent of all accidental marijuana ingestion by pets”. Known pet deaths are extremely rare, but that does not mean that the effects of THC on your pet is a good thing, it can actually be quite scary. In the U.S for example, "veterinarians have been seeing as many as a dog per day for THC exposure. In Colorado (Meola et al., 2012) , "incidents of doped-up dogs have quadrupled in recent years".

What do the experts say?

Most vets agree that weed is not very poisonous to pets, it takes ingesting around a pound or more to be life threatening. Even though death is very rare, the animal does not know what is going on, so it is not a fun experience for them. The effects are dependant on the amount consumed, the size of your pet and the potency consumed.

Studies at the University of Pisa show that some of the compounds in cannabis may protect animals from inflammatory disorders, which is excellent news. But this is without the THC and with controlled amounts, so it is best to skip getting Fido stoned. When it comes to your pets, THC does not mix well with them.

In the chance that your dog does get into your chocolate edibles, you want to call the vet. Chocolate can be poisonous to dogs, so you definitely want professional assistance there. In most cases time is the healer for a pet that got into your herb. Usually 24 hours is enough time for the effects to wear off, if symptoms occur after this time, call a vet for their opinion. Activated charcoal, from a drug store, can be used to absorb what is in the animal's body and you can induce vomitting if you catch the animal shortly after it ate the weed or edible.

CONCLUSION

Basically treat the edibles and herb around your house as if there was a young child around. The child, just like your favorite furry friend would love a bite of that brownie or cookie, so stash them good and keep them out of site.

Luke Sholl

Luke Sholl has been writing about cannabis, the wellness potential of cannabinoids, and the positive influence of nature for over a decade. Working with several cannabinoid-centric publications, he publishes a variety of digital content, supported by strong technical knowledge and thorough research.

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