Medical Marijuana for Dogs: What You Need to Know About CBD Treatments

In recent years, medical marijuana use has grown exponentially in the United States: Some two dozen states now permit the use of cannabis for pain relief, and a handful of others allow its recreational use. Could the advent of pot for pets be far behind?

Several companies are already marketing cannabis-derived products for dogs, banking on the idea that marijuana’s pain-relieving qualities translate to dogs, too.

Treatibles (treatibles.com) contain 40 milligrams of cannabidiol, or CBD, as it’s called for short, which is a non-psychoactive component of the cannabis plant. Another company founded by two veterinarians, Canna Companion (cannaforpets.com), uses a blend of hemp strains raised in Washington State; Seattle-based Canna-Pet (canna-pet.com) also uses industrial hemp in its biscuits and capsules. To be clear, these products are not made with actual medical-grade marijuana baked in, but rather use a variety of hemp strains that contain little to no THC, which is the compound that creates the marijuana “high.”

There are currently no double-blind studies providing the efficacy of marijuana-derived supplements in dogs, and there are no clear guidelines about safe therapeutic dosages. Veterinarians cannot legally prescribe marijuana for animals.

And this goes without saying, but you should never try to get your dog high.