Cannabis legalization is starting to be rampant across the world, and many people have been using it either for recreational or medicinal purposes. Aside from the common recommendation by cannabis connoisseurs that consumption of cannabinoids should be regulated according to tolerance, it should likewise be handled responsibly. For instance, the keeping of marijuana away from the easy reach of kids and pets.
This should be done because accidents happen everywhere. According to Animal Poison Control Center, due to the rapid legalization of cannabis, the increase of pets accidental ingestion of the herb has increased to over 765%. Imagine how much it grew compared to the time when it was illegal. Apart from that, there is an over 400% increase in intoxication among pets on cannabis.
Regardless of how it is made, edibles, smoke, or cannabutter, cannabis is not suitable for ingestion among pets and even other animals. However, owners cannot totally prevent such accidents from occurring.
Therefore, this article will give you complete information regarding cannabis and your pets and how they are affected by its components. Also, we will give steps on what to do and what not to do during times of emergency. Scroll below to get informed.
Observe Them Carefully
Whenever your pets ingest marijuana, they manifest slight lethargic behavior; however, it does not give you the opportunity to stay relaxed and confident with the situation. Cannabis weighing three pounds can be a small amount for humans, but it is a very lethal dosage for your pets, especially if they are relatively small in size.
For animals with gigantic size, three pounds of cannabis can be relatively enough; nonetheless, it does not automatically make them safe for to consume. It will rather result in undesirable coma or seizure attacks. If you observe symptoms like this, rush your pets to the nearest emergency room as immediately as possible.
When observing your pets’ condition, record any signs or symptoms that can help in the diagnosis and treatment of Veterinarians, the last food they have eaten, for instance.
Watch For Any Signs
The effects of cannabis on animal pets can be different depending on the amount they have ingested inside their system. The concentration of cannabis will matter, as well. However, in identifying any signs of cannabis ingestion on pets, generally, they will manifest symptoms like imbalance, which can be observed when they walk or run.
It likewise includes over-sensitivity toward sounds and any types of movements. Your pets may also manifest hyperactive behavior, sudden increase of vocal tone, tremors of the muscles, frequent urination, and non-stop drooling. If they have ingested too much cannabis, it will directly result in seizure attacks or comatose.
When under the influence of cannabis, owners will notice that their pets will show unusual behavior like they seem to be unaware of their surroundings.
To identify whether the situation of your pets is within mild to a moderate level only, you will clearly see them vomiting, have uncoordinated movements, dilated pupils or unusual eye movements, disoriented behavior, change in body temperature, hyperactive, and increased heart rate.
All these signs and symptoms occur temporarily; however, it remains to provide misery to your pets. Regardless of its mildness, owners are suggested to call for Veterinarians’ help to ensure the life of their pets and implement proper treatment. Meanwhile, you can keep your pets hydrated before help arrives.
Additionally, severe signs of marijuana ingestion can cause your pet seizures and muscle tremors. If taken lightly, it will lead to comatose. If your pets have shown at least one of these, consider it as an emergency and seek immediate help from professionals.
Function Faster
If any of these signs and symptoms occur in your pets, and you are aware you have cannabis around the house, better to respond to it rapidly and not wait for it to be extremely apparent. Cannabis is considered to be a toxic material for pets, regardless if they are prepared as edibles. Most importantly, edibles have other ingredients like sugar and chocolates that are also fatal, especially for dogs.
Pets and humans do not react to THC or other cannabinoids of cannabis similarly. It can induce life-threatening signs for pets compared to humans that mostly feel euphoric. Sometimes, it can even lead to their death, especially when they have ingested substantial amounts, although this is very rare.
Provoke Vomiting
If your pets have eaten cannabis within the fifteen-minute timeframe, you can induce vomiting to expel the cannabis out from their body. The best way to do this is to use hydrogen peroxide. With 3% of the solution, let your pets induce it orally.
Make sure the dosage is right. 3% of hydrogen peroxide is equivalent to a pet weighing ten pounds. If they weigh more than that, then increase the dosage of hydrogen peroxide. Within fifteen minutes, they are expected to vomit.
However, if you are not skilled to do it, do not try to do it, or it may instead lead to more serious and fatal situations for your pets instead of helping them. Accidents like aspiration may result from the failed attempts of trying to make them puke.
Ask for Immediate Help from Professionals
If you have no capacity to make pets puke or it is too late to do such an act, always seek immediate help from veterinarians as they can solve your problems properly. Cannabis or not, as long as your pets have ingested toxic food or material, it is best to consult the experts rather than experimenting with their situation.
Also, it is essential to disclose everything to the veterinarians about what happened, the food your pet has eaten, and the signs and symptoms it has shown. Regardless if possession of cannabis is illegal in your area, veterinarians have no interest in jailing you for such a situation. Their sole intention is to save your pets from danger.
Doing this allows the veterinarians to assess and formulate proper treatment for your pets’ situation because of the right diagnosis. As owners, if you happen to be unsure of what they have ingested but aware that there are illicit drugs around the house, apart from cannabis, this should be disclosed as well for the sake of your pets’ welfare.
Formulating Plans
Typically, vomiting would be the first attempt to help pets from accidental consumption of cannabis; however, this technique cannot be applied if time has already passed. Also, it may only lead to aspiration, which can cause further respiratory damage, aside from the intoxication.
Generally, they will give intravenous fluids to your pets and activated charcoal in several doses. This procedure allows the toxins to be binned and deter from re-absorption of toxins to their system again. There is no specific medicine that can cure cannabis intoxication among pets; however, experts can regulate and decrease the toxins from being absorbed by their bodies. These procedures, though, allow the pets to find comfort and keep them under safety and care.
They may also attempt to undergo blood testing to secure that there are no further toxins in the blood and underlying diseases. If pets are very weak and in extremely bad conditions, they are required to be under hospital admission to fully help in their complete recovery. Afterward, if they are fit to be discharged, follow the instructions from veterinarians to keep the life-threatening situation from happening again.
Prevention of Further Risk At Home
It cannot be helped that owners use cannabis frequently or sometimes, hence always assure the intoxication of pets from cannabis should be prevented from occurring again. Keep cannabis away from their reach.
Incidentally, small pets can be intrigued and eat everything they have seen. A small leftover joint in the table can potentially be eaten by them and cause another trouble, hence informing the people inside the house or visitors coming in about the dangers of cannabis ingestion on pets.
Keep phone numbers of veterinarians at home and inform the members of the house about it if incase accidents may arise. You may also need to assign a special caretaker to look out for your pets when you are away from home or at work. In this way, pets will be taken immediately if something unexpected happens.
Additionally, orient the members of the house regarding the effects of cannabis on pets. Just in case you are not around, other members of the house can easily identify the signs and symptoms of cannabis intoxication by just observing.
It Should Never Happen Again
The safety of your pets from cannabis intoxication will not end from the time they recover. Pets will still try to ingest anything they can reach even when they had a life-threatening experience.
Similar to medications keep marijuana and other forms of it from easy to access and within reach. Leftover joints on the tables and edibles left on the plate should be properly disposed of where they have no access. Provide proper storage for your marijuana seeds, buds, and edibles. Label them accordingly.
As long as there is cannabis in the house, your pets are not safe from accidental ingestion. Make sure to store them properly to prevent it from happening again.
Final Thoughts
Cannabis provides powerful effects and is extremely potent in generating psychoactive impressions, especially when ingesting a high dosage. Although this can be favorable for humans, our beloved pets are not oriented and familiar with its effect, which may lead to a threat in their lives if they accidentally ingested it, either raw or edibles.
Although there is proper care and treatment of veterinarians and cannabis intoxication among pets rarely leads to death, there is still no room to be relaxed about it. Apply precautionary measures inside the house to ensure the safety of your pets.
