Does that title seem to be a weird one? But, in reality, this is what is happening right now. With cannabis being legalized in an increasing number of states in the US like never before, it’s not only humans who are consuming it, but also pets – dogs are consuming weed and so are birds, rabbits, cats, and other pets.
In states like Oregon and Colorado, where recreational cannabis use is legal, it’s common to find the pet owners (if they are also cannabis consumers) to have carelessly left around some loose weed edibles like cookies, brownies, and muffins. The pets happen to accidentally gobble up these if they find it around and get high. In fact, there are an increasing number of pet owners who have been seeking assistance for stoned pets. And in most cases, the stoned pets that are reported at veterinarian clinics are dogs.
The animals cannot read the warning labels, and in most of the cases they end up consuming more weed than they should be because it is so very appealing to their taste buds. So, it looks like even pets want cannabis legalization.
What do veterinarians have to say about stoned animals? Well, they say that animals can simply sleep off a cannabis-high in most cases. However, the other toxins like pesticides or caffeine can be dangerous. In some cases, cannabis ingestion by animals can result in slowed or racing heart rates, vomiting, seizures or tremors. This is usually treated by administering anti-nausea medicines or intravenous fluids.
The result of spreading cannabis legalization and tolerance is that many pet owners now admit without any hesitation when they know that their pets have ingested it. Some pet owners also acknowledge that they have given pot to their pets for medicinal purposes. As of now, veterinarians are not authorized to prescribe medicinal cannabis to animals. However, there are some pet owners who have given cannabis to their pets suffering from cancer or any other disease like seizure.
The global war for legalizing cannabis is still on and it looks like soon there will be something similar to legalize the same for animals as well. Why not? When humans have the right to use medicinal cannabis for curing ailments, why shouldn’t animals experience the benefits of this miraculous drug? Even if not for recreational purpose, animals need to get access to legal prescription of medical marijuana!