What you should know about treating pets with CBD oil

Before giving CBD oil to your ailing dog or cat, you should know something.

It’s not legal to give your pet CBD oil, a popular treatment for humans looking for help with arthritis and a host of other problems.

When the Cannabis Act was passed by the federal government and updated later to include edibles, its use for pets was not included.

“Veterinarians are not permitted to authorize medical cannabis nor are there are any products that contain cannabinoids that are approved for use in animals,” said Sarah Silcox, president of the Canadian Association of Veterinary Cannabinoid Medicine.

“So the most promising step is the government has last year proposed a new class that they have termed cannabis health products, but they would be approved by Health Canada for both human products as well as animal products,” added Silcox, who predicted that change is at least a year away.

So while CBD oil for pets is widely available through the internet, Silcox cautioned those are “black market” products, adding “they’re not legal but it’s not highly enforced.”

She also said the fact that cannabinoids for pets aren’t federally regulated, vets aren’t always sure about what’s in black market products.

“Sometimes they have contaminants like pesticides or heavy metals, sometimes they have THC in them and they’re not supposed to, sometimes they have more CBD, sometimes they have less CBD than what’s on the label,” said Silcox, who urged those intent on administering their pets CBD to purchase products through government stores.

“So if you’re considering using a cannabis product like CBD for your pets, work with your veterinarian,” she said. “We cannot prescribe it but what we can do is advise you on safer usage. I can direct them to a product sold through the legal market that I think is going to be most appropriate for their pet and I can advise them how to administer that as safely as possible. Those products are intended for human consumption but half of the drugs that we use in veterinary practice are intended for human consumption, so that’s nothing new for us.”

Silcox said dosing depends on factors such as the size of an animal, adding CBD products are “generally very well tolerated and a relatively safe product.”

While no “lethal dose” has been established, CBD oil can have side effects such as sleepiness and diarrhea, she added.