According to poison hotline reports from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), marijuana toxicity in dogs has made a significant jump from 2017 to 2020. These reports suggest that, with the legalization of marijuana becoming more prevalent, so is canine consumption of it.
As reported by the LA Times, calls to the ASPCA within the above-mentioned time frame in regard to this issue have risen from 1,436 to 3,923 cases, courtesy of Tina Wismer, a Veterinarian and Senior Director of the New York-based ASPCA Poison Control Center.
These numbers are believed to be conservative as reporting is voluntary.
The trend is even harder to ignore in states where legalization has been in effect longer. In California, since full legalization in 2016, calls rose by 276 percent. In Colorado, the numbers have risen eleven-fold since its legalization in 2012.
“If you ask any of our emergency room veterinarians, they would all say that the number of cannabis-intoxicated dogs has increased by leaps and bounds since the legalization of medical and then recreational marijuana for humans,” Karl Jandrey, a professor of veterinary sciences at UC Davis, told the LA Times.
Dogs Tend To Eat Things They Find On The Ground
Dana Long, a resident of Tiburon, California, suspected something was wrong with her dog, Bentley, when he refused french fries he normally would have been all too grateful to gobble up. When they returned home, she said he “could barely walk and seemed almost unresponsive.”
“He was just out of it,” Long told the LA Times. “I thought maybe he was overheated.”
Long took Bentley to her veterinarian, who immediately recognized that the dog was high.
“I said no, because we don’t use pot. It’s not that we morally disapprove,” Long said. “It’s just not our thing.”
But the tox-screen that the vet performed on Bentley indicated that he had likely ingested a chocolate edible. He may have picked it up while playing in a field during a softball game Long had attended with him.
Chocolate, of course, is already bad enough for dogs.
Meme Culture Finds This Humorous. For The Dogs, It’s Not.
Memes and TikToks abound on the internet of dogs getting into their humans’ stashes. However, a canine’s consumption of a narcotic intended for a much larger human can be dangerous.
The effects are not the same, just like with many other anatomical differences between humans and their best friends.
Jandrey and Wismer say just a few of the symptoms that can have an adverse effect on a dog’s biology include:
- Degraded equilibrium
- Depression
- Dribbling urine
- Extreme sensitivity to touch and sound
- Slowed heart rate
- Dilated eyes
One of the scariest things, though, is that your dog may suffer the effects even if you don’t use marijuana or keep it around your beloved pet. Plenty of cases come from dogs picking up edibles on walks or while spending time outdoors in recreational areas, as was the case with Bentley.
Pet Parents Beware Of What’s On The Ground
Edibles found on the ground have the potential to not only be chocolate or marijuana, but additionally laced with other chemicals, or worse.
In 2019, local vets in Aspen, Colorado, experienced an outbreak of cannabis poisonings and deduced that dogs in the area were consuming human feces with traces of pot.
Dog parents on an app called NextDoor have been thoroughly reporting incidents, which could help in staying aware of what might be on the ground in your area.
As for symptoms, Wismer told the LA Times that they typically present themselves “about 20 to 40 minutes after exposure.” Wismer also said that if you suspect cannabis poisoning, contact your veterinarian immediately.
Has your dog ever been exposed to cannabis edibles left on the ground? What did you do to help your dog recover? Let us know in the comments below.
