The average pot user will tell you that when a pet gets into their pot, it’s generally a bad thing, both for the pet and for the stoner who paid good money for that bud. But if a Nevada lawmaker has his way, pot for pets will soon be legal in The Sagebrush State, Reuters is reporting .
Democrat Tick Segerblom introduced the measure ( SB372 ), which would allow veterinarians to prescribe pot for sick pets, if the vet believes the animal has an illness that could be treated by marijuana.
“You don’t know until you try.”
The benefits of medical marijuana (seizure control, nausea control, anxiety relief, pain relief, and appetite stimulant, among others), according to Business Insider , are well-known and observable. In primates (that is, humans). The brains of dogs, cats, and other animals are smaller and, of course, different, and will respond to cannabis differently.
In fact, pot-sickened pets have been turning up in veterinary emergency clinics since states started legalizing medical and recreational pot, according to this Inquisitr report.
“They become agitated, have high heart rates, they’re in distress. Most dogs become incontinent. They stagger around dribbling urine everywhere.”
However, those adverse reactions have happened because pets consumed pot doses that weren’t meant for them. A veterinarian who knows the animal and can prescribe the right dose of pot can do wonders for a sick animal, Los Angeles veterinarian Doug Kramer says, via New York Daily News .
“I grew tired of euthanizing pets when I wasn’t doing everything I could to make their lives better. I felt like I was letting them down.”
California horse-owner Becky Flowers tells ABC News that medical marijuana was a life-saver for one of her sick horses, a mare named Phoenix. The aging horse had a degenerative joint condition that swelled her legs and made it painful for her to walk.
“She would lay there for days and she wouldn’t eat or drink.”
Flowers made a last-ditch effort to treat the sick horse before having her euthanized: she gave Phoenix some pot from her husband’s stash. She (the horse) was up and moving within an hour.
Do you think giving medical pot to sick pets is a good idea? Share your thoughts in the Comments below.
[Image via. Getty Images/Chris Hondros]
