Thor Benson / Cannabis News Box Contributor

It used to be that everyone was worried about their pets getting into their stash, but these days more and more people are intentionally giving pets cannabis. It’s not nearly as risky as you’d think, as long as you’re doing it right.

“As long as you are being responsible and sourcing the cannabis from a responsible formulator, then it is extremely safe,” Kate Scott, CEO of VETCBD, told Cannabis News Box. “You obviously don’t want to be giving your pets a product that contains too much THC, because that can definitely cause some issues and some concerns.”

Scott said that just like with humans, it’s impossible for an animal to overdose on THC. However, too much THC can cause a pet to become ill.

“Pets, and dogs in particular, are much more sensitive to THC than we are,” Scott said. “So too much THC in animals, and in particular dogs, can definitely produce some negative side effects.”

Animals that eat too much THC can have trouble walking, become very sensitive to light and sound, their blood pressure and heart rate can be raised or decreased and more. If the pet receives way too much THC, it can cause vomiting and even seizures, which could cause other issues. That’s why you should only give your pet cannabis products made for pets specifically.

Scott said cannabis can treat pretty much anything in pets that it can in humans. Cannabis can treat an animal’s anxiety, PTSD, arthritis, inflammation, seizures, nausea and more. She said as people realize how much medical cannabis can help them, they’re more likely to try it on their pets, which is why it’s becoming more popular.

“I think more and more people are becoming aware of the different ways cannabis can help them with their illnesses and issues, and the more that people become educated about cannabis… the better it is for everybody,” Scott said. “Animals have an endocannabinoid system that’s very similar to ours, so they can reap the same benefits from cannabis therapy we can.”

Over at UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, researchers are actually conducting a survey to better understand how people are using cannabis to help their pets. So far, they’re finding pets are indeed benefitting from cannabis consumption. There has been very little scientific research done on giving cannabis to pets, so this is exciting news.

If you’re dog or cat is perfectly healthy and happy, then you probably don’t need to go get it some cannabis. However, if it has chronic pain, arthritis or any number of other common ailments a pet can have, you might want to consider it.