Increasing numbers of pets are being sickened by marijuana, veterinarians warn

18

FREDERICTON — Veterinarians say they’re seeing an increasing number of dogs sickened after ingesting marijuana, and are warning pet owners to take care as Canada prepares for cannabis legalization this year.

Dr. Jeff Goodall, a veterinarian who runs the Sunnyview Animal Centre in Bedford, N.S., says he’s seeing a growing number of dogs with marijuana toxicity.

Goodall says he saw five cases in 2017, three in 2016, and none the year before that.

He says the THC in marijuana doesn’t make the dog high. Rather, it makes them very sick — wobbling, crying, and urinating uncontrollably, and in rare cases it can lead to death.

Goodall says he’d like to see warnings and greater public education on what marijuana can do to pets.

In Colorado, where recreational marijuana was legalized in 2012, there was a four-fold increase in reported cases of toxicity in dogs between 2010 and 2015.

The Canadian Press


18 COMMENTS

  1. Oh Sault online . You become more and more satire filled as the years go by . Before you post this #### maybe you should do some research first . I get it , there are pros and cons for everything , and hell , anyone would vomit if they ate large amounts of weed . But there are vets , including mine , that suggest cbd oil to treat animals with cancer , or arthritis and those are just a few things it can help with . Smh . I can’t believe you post this without fact checking .

    • It’s a Canadian Press story sent out on the same National News wire picked up by the majority of media here in Canada Ashley Baldelli. Debating various topics like this is a good thing and allows everyone to form their own opinions. Ps- your comment was caught and hidden by FB language filters for the use of the word S__t.

    • So Ashley, the Canadian Press and Dr. Goodall might be inventing statistics so Sault on Line shouldn’t publish such stories? What information do you have to discredit their information? What motive would they have to write a ‘fake news’ article on pets getting sick from weed? The vet is saying to be careful, not that people can’t have their marijuana. I know as a pet owner and a health care professional that some drugs have different effects on animals than on humans. Dr. Goodall’s message is that he’s seen unnecessary animal suffering and that we need to be mindful. Animals, keep in mind, will eat *anything*; they don’t have the gray matter to weigh out the pros and cons you discuss, and say ‘gee, if I eat this, I’ll get sick’. I honestly don’t see how this article should ruffle anyone’s feathers.

  2. Little or nothing will change when they legalize pot, if they ever get it passed. Most anyone that wants to smoke pot has been doing so for a long time already! Just how naive is society?

Comments are closed.