WEED WARNING: POT, PETS DON'T MIX

Now that Breckenridge has legalized possession of pot for personal
use and medical marijuana dispensaries are popping up faster than
mushrooms in a wet cow pasture in Fort Collins, I figured it's time
we had a little heart-to-heart talk about the subject.

I'm not here to weigh in on the subject of whether pot should be
legalized for recreational use by humans. As a veterinarian, I'll
leave that for the folks on the editorial page. But as marijuana
becomes more accessible, it's inevitable that more pets will be
poisoned by it.

Marijuana poisoning typically occurs by accident in dogs when the dog
gets into someone's stash. The chemical in marijuana -
9-tetrahydrocannabinol or THC - produces toxicity in dogs when they
ingest it. Signs typically occur 30 to 90 minutes after ingestion and
include those who have seen a Cheech and Chong movie - listlessness,
incoordination, stupor, dilated pupils and a slow heart rate.
Occasionally, gastrointestinal (GI) signs such as vomiting and
diarrhea occur.

Marijuana ingestion is rarely fatal, even at high doses. But the
symptoms of toxicity can be quite severe, including seizures that are
difficult to control. If the ingestion has occurred within 30
minutes of the animal being seen by a veterinarian, making the dog
empty its stomach by inducing vomiting may significantly decrease the
effects of the ingestion. Unfortunately, one of the properties that
makes marijuana a viable drug for use in human medicine, nausea
control, can often make it difficult to induce vomiting in a dog that
has ingested it.

Here's the catch: People who have marijuana in a spot where it might
be accessible to a nosy canine might also have been partaking of the
substance themselves, potentially rendering them slow to react to the
situation. The sooner the dog can be taken to the vet, the better
for the dog. And the single most important thing to remember is to
come clean with the veterinarian and tell them if there's a chance
that the animal's symptoms could be attributable to marijuana
ingestion. The veterinarian is under no obligation to report the
incident to law enforcement. Most don't care about your personal
substance habits; they just want to help the animal.

Treatment for marijuana ingestion is similar to that for other
toxins. Activated charcoal is given by mouth, often every four to six
hours, in order to absorb the THC that is in the GI tract and prevent
it from getting into systemic circulation. Therapy with intravenous
fluids also helps to clear the toxin from circulation. Some dogs need
sedation to control agitation and must be kept quiet in a darkened
environment away from loud noises.

Because intoxication with marijuana is such a bewildering and
potentially dangerous situation for animals, hopefully it goes
without saying that animals should never be encouraged to ingest it.

Christie Long is a veterinarian at the VCA Fort Collins Animal
Hospital. Once a month, she will answer
questions from her readers regarding pet health issues.