New battlefront in legalized marijuana: dogs
Go Deeper.
Create an account or log in to save stories.
Like this?
Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.
In states where marijuana has been legalized, the debate is moving on to a new arena of dispute on its benefits: dogs.
The Boston Globe says vets are seeing more cases of people giving their dogs marijuana to treat what ails them.
The vets are concerned that there's little to no research on the effects of marijuana on their system. But the pet market is the fastest-growing part of the cannabidiol (CBD) industry.
It works miracles, according to the humans whose dogs have shaken off the ills of aging. The Globe described a pug who couldn't move a hind leg until getting a dose, for example.
Turn Up Your Support
MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all.
It's put vets in a tough spot. Under Massachusetts law, they could be punished if they recommended marijuana for a pet and something bad happened.
“It’s a Wild West,” said Susan Curtis, the executive director of the state's veterinary medical association. “There’s not a lot of science behind it. That’s what we’re up against right now."
At a cannabis convention last week, one "nutrionist" on a panel told her audience, "If your dog is acting happier, moving, happy to go for a walk for a change, it doesn’t matter what a vet thinks.”
Meanwhile, one clinic reports they get about one case a day of a stoned dog.