As marijuana use widens, vets are treating more pets for cannabis poisoning
- Veterinarians are seeing a 300% increase in marijuana poisoning cases in pets from 2018-2023 as more states legalize cannabis, with dogs being especially sensitive to THC at lower doses than humans.
- Dogs with marijuana toxicity often show symptoms like abnormal walking, heightened reactivity, and excessive urination; symptoms usually last 8-12 hours for low doses and up to 48 hours for higher doses, with severe cases causing tremors, seizures, or comas.
- Marijuana edibles pose additional risks due to toxic ingredients like chocolate and xylitol, which can be more dangerous to pets than the marijuana itself, requiring aggressive veterinary treatment.
- If a pet shows signs of marijuana toxicity or is suspected to have ingested cannabis, owners should promptly seek veterinary care for diagnosis and monitoring, or consult a vet if no symptoms are present initially.
States where marijuana is legal may see long lines at local dispensaries for the "420" unofficial stoner holiday Monday, but veterinarians are hoping they don’t experience the same.
As marijuana use increases in the U.S. and more states legalize the drug, veterinary clinics are seeing a big uptick in pets with cannabis toxicity. From 2018-2023, the Animal Poison Control Center saw a 300% rise in calls about marijuana poisoning. Here’s what to know:
What they're saying:
Dr. Ashton Townsley, lead emergency veterinarian at Veterinarian Emergency Group (VEG) in Torrance, California, said dogs metabolize THC differently than humans and experience symptoms at much lower doses, "which is why we call even just a normal ingestion for what a human might take, a toxicity in dogs."
It can be challenging for vets to determine whether marijuana is the culprit, Townsley said, because dog urine tests can show false negatives, and "it's the rare pet parent that comes in that either knows their pet got into marijuana or is willing to admit it."
"Most of the time, we're trying to pull that information out of them, and that can be kind of difficult," he said.
"I always say that just because you don't have it the house doesn't mean that the neighbor doesn't, and that they didn't throw the end of a pre-roll over the fence or something like that, or your dog picked it up on the walk you took him on an hour before and is just now starting to show symptoms."
Big picture view:
Townsley said the following symptoms are most common in dogs with marijuana toxicity:
"When I have a dog walk into the hospital, I can almost spot it from across the room," he said. "You know, they're walking kind of funny. They seem like they're really reactive to everything, and urine is pouring from them. That's pretty highly suspicious for a marijuana ingestion."
Townsley said if it’s a lower dose of marijuana, the symptoms in dogs will typically resolve in 8 to 12 hours, but if it’s a higher dose and a more severe case, symptoms can last for up to 48 hours.
Although it’s "quite rare" for a dog to die from marijuana poisoning, Townsley said he has seen marijuana-linked comas, tremors and seizures.
"At higher doses, there are some severe side effects," he said.
Dig deeper:
Another factor for vets treating pets with marijuana toxicity is what form of marijuana they ingested.
If it’s an edible chocolate, chocolate is toxic to dogs at higher doses, while edible "gummies" often have artificial sweeteners like xylitol, which is highly toxic to dogs even in small doses.
"We have to act very aggressively, more for the xylitol toxicity than for the marijuana ingestion," Townsley said.
What you can do:
Townsley said if your pet is showing signs of marijuana toxicity, get them to a veterinarian’s office to be diagnosed and monitored.
If you suspect your pet has eaten marijuana but they’re not showing symptoms, call your primary vet or an ER vet if it’s after-hours. They can guide you on whether you should bring your pet in.