Abstract
The incidence of accidental exposure and intoxication in pets is increasing with the rise in popularity and accessibility to cannabis and cannabinoid-containing products marketed for use in both pets and people. Exposure to synthetic cannabinoids is a growing concern as well. While the overall prognosis for unintentional exposures remains good, pets will no doubt receive more timely treatment from veterinarians who can quickly recognize the clinical signs associated with intoxication, understand when cases have the potential to become severe, and are aware of treatment protocols. This chapter encompasses the following: a brief outline of cannabinoid products and the endocannabinoid system; a summary of current published studies investigating the effects of cannabidiol (CBD) or delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) including reported adverse effects; clinical signs of intoxication in dogs and cats as reported in the literature and to animal poison control centers; toxic doses of cannabinoids; and medical treatment approaches to cannabis intoxication in pets.
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Acknowledgments
The author would like to express her gratitude to Amanda Poldoski, DVM, at Pet Poison Helpline for her data interpretation and creation of the figures in this text; to Holly Hommerding, DVM, DABT at Pet Poison Helpline for her previous research and writing on this topic; and to Morgan Maisel, DVM/MPH candidate 2019, for her work analyzing Pet Poison Helpline’s CBD and synthetic cannabinoid cases.
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Brutlag, A. (2021). Toxicology. In: Cital, S., Kramer, K., Hughston, L., Gaynor, J.S. (eds) Cannabis Therapy in Veterinary Medicine. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-68317-7_3
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