In honour of 4/20 here’s a short and sweet post on marijuana toxicity.

I remember the days when the thought of telling your vet your dog may have gotten into your pot was a big deal.

Hopefully that didn’t age me too much!

In those days, treating marijuana toxicity was much harder because no one wanted to come clean and just tell us why their pup was presenting a bit wobbly, disoriented, and dribbling urine.

Now with marijuana being legalized in Canada, and in many states, owners are bit more forthcoming with important information and we can get right to treatment.

What causes Marijuana toxicity in pets?

Marijuana, or cannabis, is a plant that has been around for centuries. The Cannabis plant contains nearly 70 different substances called cannabinoids.

Tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, is the cannabinoid that has the most psychoactive effects and is responsible for the toxic effects seen with pets.

Usually pets are accidentally ingesting cannabis (the plant) or edibles that include THC. And although less common, second-hand smoke can also be a source for toxicity.

Signs of Marijuana Toxicity

Cannabinoid receptors can be found in almost all tissues of the body. Cannabinoids within marijuana plants are mainly interacting with cannabinoid receptors in the nervous and immune systems. This is why pets that ingest marijuana are presenting with neurological symptoms.

Among these symptoms we can see:

• CNS depression (lethargy)
• Ataxia (stumbling over, drunken like)
• Pupil size changes (can be dilated or constricted)
• Vomiting
• Hypersalivation
• Urinary incontinence (dribbling urine)
• Hyperesthesia / Hypersensitivity
• In severe cases tremors, seizures, coma

What to do if you know or suspect your pet ingested marijuana

If your pet is showing clinical symptoms and there is the possibility of ingestion of marijuana, seek veterinary attention.

Once at your vet, be honest! Just tell your vet what may be causing your pet’s symptoms. This allows us to keep marijuana toxicity in mind as we work up the case.

If you know without a doubt your pet got into your stash, tell us! This avoids having to run diagnostic tests, and expensive tests at that, before starting treatment.

Treatment for Marijuana Toxicity

Treatment depends on the amount ingested and degree of symptoms related to toxicity.

Most pups only require supportive care which includes:

• IV fluid therapy
• Managing vomiting and hypersalivation with anti-emetics
• Activated charcoal if no longer vomiting and if they are alert enough to safely administer
• Sedatives if presentation is more agitated

In situations where toxicity is more severe a patient may present with life threatening clinical symptoms such as:

• Bradycardia (low heart rate)
• Hypotension (low blood pressure)
• Hypothermia (low body temperature)
• Tremors and seizure activity
• Coma

These patients do require intensive care and additional treatments to address the specific clinical presentation.

Regardless of the amount of marijuana ingested these patients are usually staying at least one night in hospital, but sometimes longer stays are needed depending on their improvements with time and treatments.

More often than not, prognosis is very good. Full recovery may take a few days for some patients. But there are usually no residual or long-term side effects to be worried about.

So even though prognosis is good for these pets, let’s keep these fun times to ourselves and avoid an expensive trip to the vet and a bad trip for your pet.