There is rapidly growing interest in the potential therapeutic use of cannabis among veterinarians around the world.
Unfortunately, there is a profound lack of formal veterinary education on the endocannabinoid system (ECS) and its clinical manipulation, despite its discovery more than 30 years ago. This gap has left practitioners with a lack of knowledge, as well as comfort, in meeting the increasing demands placed on them by clients. One of the biggest concerns for clinicians revolves around dosing strategy: what’s safe, what’s effective, where to start?
We’ve devoted much time over the past few months to discussion of inflammatory conditions that
affect pets. Of all the body systems that impact our daily lives, in both humans and our pets, the
gastrointestinal system (aka the GI tract or “the gut”) is probably the one we are most acutely aware
of…regular feeding and elimination urges occur multiple times daily, and any disturbance to this process
has an immediate impact.
After working as a veterinarian for the military, Dr. Casara Andre turned her focus to holistic medicine, with the hopes of achieving a more balanced approach to wellness than that provided by pharmaceuticals. This idea lead her to found Veterinary Cannabis Education & Consulting, which helps to educate both veterinarians and pet owners about the potential of CBD and cannabis-based medications.
Dr. Trina Hazzah is regularly questioned about marijuana use.
That is, clients frequently ask Dr. Hazzah, a veterinary integrative oncologist working in Los Angeles, about incorporating the drug into their pets’ treatment protocols.
Dr. Hazzah, who is also a founder and the co-president of the Veterinary Cannabis Society, offered her perspective on the therapeutic use of cannabis-derived products as part of the AVMA Cannabis Symposium, held Thursday during the AVMA Virtual Convention 2020.
The state of veterinary medicine has advanced significantly in recent years and thanks to the availability of more effective medicine, many pets are living longer than they would have years ago. With age however, comes the onset of problems such as arthritis and other forms of pain and inflammation. Conventional pharmaceuticals commonly used to treat pain sometimes have a negative impact on the immune system, GI tract, liver, and kidneys. Additionally, they don’t always work as well as we would like them to – for humans as well as our pets.1
The use of cannabis to treat seizures is nothing new. Cannabis has been described as a therapy for people with seizures for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. In recent years, cannabis, and cannabidiol (CBD) in particular, are once again being considered for the treatment of seizures in both humans and animals.
In ancient times, cannabis was used for seizures based purely on observational data, but today in-depth scientific research is being conducted to determine how and why cannabis is beneficial in the effort to determine how best to limit, and hopefully eliminate, seizures.
