Most vets have been asked whether using CBD (cannabidiol) for various conditions in their pets is beneficial. Due to how easily accessible it is these days, a lot of people have experimented without getting veterinary opinion first. Everyone knows someone who has a story how it helped their pets. In this case, people would rather focus on the positive.
Is there a place for CBD in veterinary medicine? Yes.
Can we prescribe it? No. There are not enough clinical trials and research in animals to be able to freely prescribe it to our patients without us as a veterinary profession somehow being liable should things go wrong. Information from reliable sources is mostly vague and most information is extrapolated from human studies.
The aim of this article is to equip owners with the necessary information to enable you to make an informed decision for yourself, taking all responsibility. You need to use these products cautiously. Despite a relatively good therapeutic safety index, they can cause harm.
The generally accepted therapeutic dose range for CBD in animals has been 0.1 to 0.5 mg/kg twice daily, but you can go as high as 5 mg/kg twice daily, orally. Not all patients respond in the same way.
Some of the uses of CBD are the following:
- pain management (can be safely combined with painkillers such as NSAIDs, often working together to lower the necessary dose for both);
- cancer; and
- seizures.
CBD is metabolised by the liver, which means drug competition problems are possible. It can affect how other drugs are broken down, which can cause problems. Once again, specific drug interactions are still being studied.
Clients are reminded that CBD is still a drug and as such, should be used with caution. Furthermore, not all CBD products are the same. They may contain varying levels of cannabinoids, terpenes, and contaminants, which may either help or endanger a patient. When using CBD products on pets without guidance, anything can happen.
The most common adverse effect of using CBD is diarrhoea and various forms of toxicoses.
There is lots of promise for the therapeutic use of hemp products, even those with THC, for medicinal human and animal use. Some potential future usages are eye drops for glaucoma, tumour injections, stimulation of bone growth, safe sedation for puppies and young animals, anaesthesia induction, inhalers for lungs, pain relievers from certain parts of the plant, antifungal and antimicrobial bedding for animals, treatment for chronic cystitis in cats, use for chronic dermatitis in dogs and cats, and treatment of inflammatory bowel disease.
So, how would you choose a product that is best for animals?
A National Animal Supplement Counsel (NASC) Seal of Quality Assurance is a good start. The NASC is a trade group for nutraceuticals that is taking the lead on trying to regulate the safety of commercial cannabis and hemp products. It is recommended that a certificate of analysis indicating potency, per-dosing unit, all ingredients, and the presence of mycotoxins, metals or pesticides can help you determine if a product is reasonably safe. Currently not many products give this information but hopefully this will change over time.
Many people have the opinion that CBD can’t hurt, and a lot of vets are reluctant to discuss this with owners. Yes, we need to be cautious in condoning the use of these products, because there is not enough scientific evidence in so many aspects of their side effects and interactions. However, there does seem to be many positive aspects to CBD.
For now, it will need to be a decision made by the owner, but we hope that this information has helped you to at least make a more informed decision when choosing to use these products.