Do You Support Medical Marijuana for Pets?

What’s the story?

• Adult pet owners will be allowed to buy their four-legged friends medical marijuana with the recommendation of a vet, if California passes a bill that recently cleared the state Senate.
• The California Senate voted 33-0 on SB-627, which would give vets the same protections as doctors who recommend medicinal marijuana.

What are vets saying?

• The American Veterinary Medical Association holds that “cannabinoids such as CBD appear to hold therapeutic promise in areas such as the treatment of epilepsy and the management of pain and inflammation associated with osteoarthritis, the available scientific evidence pertaining to their use in animals is currently limited.”
• A 2018 study at Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine did find that a hemp oil blend was “efficacious for pain in dogs with osteoarthritis, chronic joint pain and geriatric pain and soreness; with dramatic beneficial effects in our more geriatric patients.” 

What do you think?

Should vets be allowed to prescribe medicinal pot for pets? Take action and tell your reps, then share your thoughts below.

—Josh Herman

(Photo Credit: iStock / Svetlana Sarapultseva)