In recent years, attention toward the use of cannabis in veterinary medicine has been unprecedented. Even new pharmaceutical innovations rarely evoke the level of interest being seen with cannabis. From a veterinarian’s perspective, incorporating cannabis into practice necessitates learning about a system of neurotransmitters and receptors of which many of us heretofore were completely unaware.
To use and/or advise clients about the use of cannabis as medicine, veterinarians must understand how the endocannabinoid system functions and how compounds in cannabis (phytocannabinoids) exert physiologic effects through accessing endogenous pathways. This article serves as an introduction to those topics.