Hemp Used As New Pain Reliever For Pets
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) - We hear a lot about medical marijuana and its ability to relieve pain for people. Now some pet owners are saying something similar might help their dogs and cats.
Like pot, industrial hemp biscuits are part of the cannabanoid family of pain relievers. The biscuits contain Cannabidiol (CBD) which provide pets with pain relief without a high.
"I was amazed at how well he did," said dog owner Jane Fulton.
Fulton first gave the biscuits to her dog Tasso.
"He had some fatty tumors. He had a hard time walking, probably hip dysplasia based on the way he was walking," she said.
Tasso died about a month ago, but Fulton said the hemp biscuits eased his pain in his final days.
Scary seizures became a thing of the past for Chiara Subhas' dog Leo, after he started taking a cannabanoid supplement.
"I was looking for alternatives and this was definitely an alternative that worked for him," said Subhas.
Subhas said the seizure episodes were frightening.
"Just violently shaking, his mouth is open, his eyes are rolling back, he's drooling," she explained.
Veterinarian Dr. Lisa Moses, who specializes in pain management, says clients are asking her on a weekly basis if these supplements are effective.
"There's a lot of potential for it's use as a pain reliever," Dr. Moses said. "There's no real regulation on them. We don't have any information on whether they are safe, and how they will work with other medications, but also don't have any information that says they are not safe so it's kind of a buyer and user beware situation."
The Food and Drug Administration recently issued a warning to some manufacturers for marketing unapproved drugs.
One company to receive such a letter dated February 24, 2015 is Canna-Pet.
It sells hemp capsules and biscuits for pets online starting at around $30 per pack.
Because the product is not listed with the FDA, the agency considers it "unsafe".
But Jane Fulton consulted with her vet who agreed there was a limited downside for Tasso.
"Tasso was family and to see him struggling was heartbreaking, we wanted to do something for him," she said. "So we gave it a try and it worked and it was just glorious to see that."
Because there are no uniform standards in this area, pets can potentially get a dangerous amount of the drug.
Vets say no one should ever experiment with real marijuana around an animal.
