Image source: @SpotUS Via Flickr
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As states begin to legalize recreational marijuana, business are clamoring for a piece of the “pot pie” – even pet products. While none of them are suggesting you give your dog a joint, they are suggesting that a non-psychoactive cannabinoid (CBD) found in cannabis and hemp could help your dog with health issues.
THC and CBD
Dr. Kathryn Primm, owner of Applebrook Animal Hospital and the “Animal Stuff You Wonder About” blog, explains two these two compounds are and their basics effects on the body:
Marijuana plants have compounds that may have therapeutic benefit. Some states have legalized its use for certain disorders. One of these is delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) which is a mind altering compound, also called psychoactive. THC is similar in chemical composition to naturally occurring brain chemicals. THC is recognized by the body as anandamide (one of the naturally occurring compounds) and fits into the brain’s receptors for anandamide and overwhelms them, producing the “high” including altered perception and mood, impaired coordination, difficulty with thinking and problem solving, and disrupted learning and memory.
Other compounds found in marijuana are under investigation for medicinal use and are called cannabidiols (CBD). Cannabidiols have seen synthetically produced in the lab to harness the benefits and minimize the psychoactive properties. CBDs have shown some promise in managing refractory childhood epilepsy and in some of these patients they have shown promise as a lifesaving protocol in an otherwise desperate situation.
According to Leafly.com “Trichomes – the clear bulbous globes – ooze aromatic oils called terpenes as well as therapeutic cannabinoids like THC and CBD.Image source: Leafly.com
Cannibis For Dogs
Treat-ibles, a brand of CBD pet treats, have already been on the market for over a year.
The treats are produced by Auntie Dolores, a well-known marijuana edibles brands, located in California. Auntie Dolores has been around since 2008 and began to product Treat-ibles after many requests from customers asking about using CBD for their pet’s needs.
We asked Marjorie Fisher, Director of Treat-bles, to answer a few questions about her products.
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Can you explain how CBD interacts with the endocannabinoid system in our bodies?
MF: Animals’ bodies produce endocannabinoids and they are very much like the cannabinoids found in these plants so the receptors found throughout the body all respond to these plant endocannobinoids when they enter the body. These endocannabinoids regulate homeostasis which underlies every physiological function in the body – without homeostasis our feedback mechanisms stop working which results in disease, inflammation, autoimmune disease, epilepsy, and the list goes on. Often in disease states, our bodies need assistance with this regulation and need help outside of the body and plant cannabinoids like CBD are a healthy nontoxic way to assist this process and treat disease and imbalance in the body of a human or animal.
I understand research is behind the idea for the treats – did you work with a veterinarian or a researcher to make sure it was safe for pets?
MF: CBD is 100% nontoxic and safe and there are vets researching and using it now all over the world. There is a renowned vet in Pennsylvania named Dr. Katz at the University of Pennsylvania doing trials on CBD and developing his own CBD-rich product. Much of our research and development mimics Dr. Katz.
CBD is similar to many foods, herbs, and plants that provide valuable benefits. Like turmeric which is anti-inflammatory or chamomile which is calming.
GW pharmaceuticals in England is developing a drug I mentioned in my last email with CBD in it to treat children with epilepsy. This is applicable to animals because they have an endocannabinoid system similar to humans so they too can consume the type of medicine and benefit.
The Treats
Image source: Treatibles.com
The company says people give their pets CBD treats for the following ailments:
Pain
Inflammation
Separation anxiety
Seizures
Cancer (and associated pain and symptoms)
“The CBD in our our pet treats comes from hemp and has virtually no THC so the health benefits can be enjoyed without the psychoactivity,” explains Fischer. “CBD, which makes up most of our product occurs naturally in hemp. We therefore use hemp-derived CBD because we do not want to get our pets high and they can still enjoy the benefits. We do three levels of testing on our treats both of the raw material before they are made and after of the baked treat.”
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Image source: Treatibles.com
When asked to clarify what she meant by testing, Fischer explained the testing as follows:
The first is to test for the cannabinoids, meaning CBD and CBN the non-toxic non psychoactive compounds we are working with. We do this testing before and after to know how much is present in the treats.
The second testing is the guaranteed analysis which is done by every pet food or treat manufacturer in the pet industry.
The third is to test for any traces of heavy metals in the hemp oil which if any were to ever be present, which never happens because we are using high quality pharmaceutical grade hemp oil. [If metals were present] we would never use it.
In addition, they have comment cards on each package, which they are using as a way to track anecdotal results from their customers.
And what has that feedback been?
MF: Feedback has been 100% positive and incredible. Along with the feedback cards we also get an overwhelming number of emails. Animals are finding substantial relief from anxiety, muscle and joint problems, epilepsy where seizures stop completely, and much more. Just a couple weeks ago a woman called crying because she was about to put her dog down due to horrible joint problems and she gave him a couple treats and within 15 minutes the dog was up and walking around and happy, which she hadn’t seen in months. I just spoke to her this week and with a daily regimen of our treats this dog no longer has to be put down.
Fisher added that, to date, they have not come across any negative side effects to report nor are nay dogs allergic, as far as they know.
The company has links to research that has been done on cannabis by third parties on their website, should you wish further reading.
The Other Side of The Coin
Everything I wrote above makes it sound like CBD is a miracle drug. Well, if we have learned anything about miracle drugs over the years it should be that if it sounds too good to be true…it probably is.
Dr. Kathryn Primm has strong reservations over giving a dog an part of the cannabis plant:
The side effects of THC and possibly CBD make it controversial as a medicine, especially for young people. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, studies have shown that recreational marijuana use in young people dropped the user IQ (intelligence quotient) by an average of 8 points and this effect does not reverse with discontinued use. There are cardiovascular side effects, like changes in heart rate and respiratory issues. There are links to mental illness in later life and the immediate consequences of judgment impairment, like accident and injury. It seems that the general population believes that marijuana is a “safe” drug, but studies have not proved this misconception.
All of these human risks coupled with the addictive potential of marijuana make it debatable as a safe medication for pets.
So – Yay or Nay?
There does not seem to be a clear answer here. Both sides have research and experts that back up their differing stance on giving dog’s cannbis. However, a few things to think about before you order Treat-ibles for your dog:
Training my dog is hard enough without him losing IQ points – is that something you are willing to risk?
How about the health issues Dr. Primm mentions such as changes in heart rate or respiratory issues?
The research is new – without any definitive results or long-term studies to truly know if its “100 percent safe” as Fischer says. (Which, if the research Dr. Primm mentioned is accurate – then CBD is not without its risks).
And since, as Fischer also mentions, there are other homeopathic remedies out there such as turmeric and chamomile, it might not be worth trying something whose full effects are not truly known yet.
What do you think? Are you going to be order a 4/20 treat for your dog?
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