How CBD is Revolutionizing Veterinary Medicine

The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), which is the largest veterinary organization in the world, showcases testimonials from pet parents on their website, claiming the drastic efficacy of cannabis oil. They note how it has dramatically improved their pet’s lives, giving them mobility when they were previously immobile. In addition, it has improved their appetites and lessened their need for prescription drug medication, or in some cases making conventional drug medication altogether obsolete.

The endocannabinoid receptors throughout our pets bodies, just like in ours, work on various receptors in the body to regulate physiological functions, mainly homeostasis. Our state of homeostasis, or in other words, balance, affects our mood, appetite, sleep, hormones, immune system, and pain. Again, the same as us, when our pet’s bodies are in distress, such as disease or some other ailment, mild or chronic, activating these endocannabinoid receptors helps to treat these conditions. This activation is achieved by taking CBD oil, which of course contains cannabidiol, the non-psychoactive, medicinal cannabinoid found in the hemp plant.

Although the traditional pharmaceutical veterinary drugs, such as Meloxicam, (Metacam), fluoxetine, (Prozac), alprazolam, (Xanax), and carprofen, (Rimadyl) have helped many pets to live a better life, they can have many mild to serious side effects, especially concerning their effect on the liver, kidney and GI tract. CBD, on the other hand, when dosed properly and gradually, has not been found to have any harmful side effects.

The American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association (AHVMA) has stated, regarding the use of CBD for pets that “There is a growing body of veterinary evidence … This herb may be able to improve the quality of life for many patients, even in the face of life-threatening illnesses.” They conducted a survey which reported that 61.8% to 95% of pet parents endorse cannabis-infused treats for pets as being beneficial to their health, as either ‘moderately or excellently effective’. These CBD treats helped to relieve medical conditions such as pain, nervous system issues, inflammation, nausea and/or vomiting, anxiety, problems with digestion, tumors, convulsions and seizures, skin conditions, and phobias such as fear of thunderstorms or fireworks. From this study, some of the most notable testimonials from people who treated their pets with some form of CBD are as follows:

1. A woman named Julianna whose daschunds suffered from disc problems that caused them pain; Neither Tramadol nor Rimadyl treatments helped them, so she gave them CBD oil. A few weeks later, her dogs showed mood and mobility improvements and showed no side effects.
2. A pet owner in California who stated that CBD significantly bettered his injured dog’s health.
3. One person who claimed that CBD, with its anticonvulsant properties, reduced his dog’s epileptic seizures down to just once a month after starting cannabis treatment.
4. A man named David Bourgouin whose dog sustained a serious injury between the chest and leg area; From this injury resulted a cyst, which hindered the dog’s mobility, leading to him needing surgery. Unable to afford the surgery, David chose to use CBD to treat his dog instead. After just a few weeks, his dog was able to run, without any obvious signs of pain.

A different study has concluded that the endocannabinoid system, when activated by cannabinoids, is helpful in preventing immune-mediated and inflammatory allergic disorders, like those that cause skin problems in canines. Yet another study found that CBD and its anticonvulsant, anti-epileptic properties hold what is called a ‘higher protective index’ as compared to the conventional anticonvulsant drugs Phenytoin and Phenobarbital.

It is no wonder why there is an increasing number of veterinarians who, despite the stigma associated with cannabis due to the lack of research and criminalization in many states, recommending CBD oil for their patients.