Risks of THC and cannabis products for patients

Every year on April 20, cannabis and THC consumers across the United States celebrate it as the unofficial cannabis holiday. However, with the celebration comes some warnings from veterinary professionals because cannabis and THC can be a massive threat to pets if ingested. Each year, marijuana has been climbing up the list of Top Toxins at Pet Poison Helpline after making its first appearance on the list in 2022.2 Pets can be affected by ingesting edibles or the owner's supplies, and even second-hand smoke from the owner, but another concern for these pets is other factors that can be tied to the products, such as chocolate edibles or xylitol filed gummies.

To help spread awareness and educate on the dangerous postions pets can be in if they ingest these products, Renee Schmid, DVM, DABT, DABVT, senior toxicology and director of veterinary medicine at Pet Poison Helpline, shares the different risk these products can have on pets ahead of April 20.

Below is a full transcript, edited lightly for clarity

Renee Schmid, DVM, DABT, DABVT: I'm Dr Renee Schmidt. I'm the director of veterinary medicine and senior veterinary toxicologist for Pet Poison Helpline. Yeah, so cannabis itself, any of the THC marijuana products, are going to be dangerous. I think that some of the things that we get more called on more frequently are going to be the edibles. They typically are a little bit more appealing to animals, so they often contain chocolate or other good tasting foods with that, and so that might encourage the animal to ingest more than if it was just...kind of the traditional joint or plant material.

The other one might be gummies. So a lot of the THC gummies, they are flavored, and they're again, enticing to animals to ingest. And so while they may not be more problematic in the sense of the amount of THC or cannabis that's there, but just more problematic in the sense that they are more appealing and tasty, and so animals may ingest more of them.