It's Not Okay to Give Marijuana to Dogs, Doctors Warn

There are no studies that confirm that marijuana can help treat animals of their illnesses and yet that does not stop some pet owners to try their luck on medical marijuana in a possibility that their sick pets can feel a sense of relief from their predicament, according to various reports.

According to the New York Times, there are already several companies that are keen in creating cannabis- based products for pets. In the same report, there are many personal accounts from pet owners regarding their experiences with using these cannabis-based products to their pets. Most of them share their positive stories on how these products helped their pets to be relieved from chronic pain, help limit seizures, and even reduce its anxiety. In a Popular Science report, veterinarian Lisa Moses said that while people usually ask her if marijuana really works on pets, she mentioned that there are also a lot of pet owners and some veterinarians that reported that indeed, those kinds of supplements have helped their pets.

Despite positive reports, it is still unlikely to totally recommend cannabis-based products on pets. There are still problems that need to be addressed before ruling that these are safe to use for pets. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has no stamp of approval on this---as there are actually no studies yet to prove the effectiveness and safety of cannabis on pets. Even Lisa Moses voiced out that, "not only are there no guidelines, there's no oversight. There is no way to know how much of a risk you're taking." And of course, in humans, the effects of cannabis are not all good news and it can also be the same effects with pets as well.

However, new pet pain relievers emerged. Cannabis has so many ingredients, with tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) as the main ingredient. THC is psychoactive and is proven unsafe to pets. But there is also another chemical called cannabidiol (CBD), which is also included in these new pet pain relievers, is not a psychoactive but there can be benefits. There is a study about CBD as a potential treatment for seizures, pain, inflammation and other problems in humans, however there is still no concrete evidence about this.