It's the problem that spurred a thousand memes: As weed becomes more readily available, more and more pets are getting into their owners' stashes.
Most recently, clinics in Washington state say that since recreational marijuana was legalized, they've been treating as many as 30 cases of canine THC overdoses per month. "[You could] smell from her breath that it smelled like marijuana," Dr. Ruby Donnaway at the Affordable Animal Emergency Clinic in Auburn told news station KHOU of a recent case. "There are weeks where we're pretty much seeing it every single night."
Vets warm that toxicity can cause seizures, a coma or worse: a dose of about 3 grams per kilogram of the animal's weight is lethal.
Donnaway said it's unclear whether there's actually been an increase in pot poisoning or if people are just less afraid to report incidents. But in Colorado, a five-year study found that such cases quadrupled after medicinal marijuana became legal in 2000. And vets say that the growing popularity of edibles -- weed disguised in all manner of tempting snacks -- could be contributing to the problem.
"Nobody wants to be chewing on weeds," Delta 9 owner Stephanie Viskovich told KHOU. "Any infused product should be treated as a medicine, not as a baked good to be hanging around."
Shares