Marijuana poisoning in dogs | Dr. Justine Lee, DVM, DACVECC, DABT, Board-Certified Veterinary Specialist

Posted by justinelee in Animal Safety, Blog, Pet Health, Pet Help

As a board-certified emergency critical care veterinary specialist and toxicologist, I see a lot of marijuana poisoning in dogs. More and more pets are getting into marijuana due to the legalization of medicinal marijuana, resulting in accidental ingestion in dogs. You can hear more at my radio show on Pet Life Radio ER VET.

Well, according to the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center, the only non-profit Animal Poison Control Center in the world, there was a 765% increase in calls about pet exposures! This is likely due to the decriminalization of medicinal or recreational marijuana by several states. You can read my blog about the use of medicinal marijuana in pets here.

Dr. Tina Wismer, the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center Medical director, was recently interviewed on Mashable about dogs getting into baked goods with marijuana. According to human medical doctors, same with children, sadly! That’s because our dogs and young children don’t know the difference between marijuana edibles and regular baked goods. Cats, on the other hand, typically aren’t exposed to the baked goods, but rather, the bud form of marijuana (due to their curious nature! You have to admit, it looks like dried catnip!).

Marijuana poisoning in dogs Image by gjbmiller on Pixabay

So, what signs would we expect to see with marijuana poisoning in dogs and cats?

• Walking drunk
• Disorientation
• Dilated pupils
• Agitation or sedation
• Hyperactivity
• Tremors
• Drooling
• Vomiting
• Urinary incontinence
• Slow or rapid heart rate
• Slowed breathing
• Coma

Signs of marijuana poisoning in dogs and cats develop quickly (within 5 minutes) or be delayed up to 12 hours; most often, occur with 1-3 hours of exposure.

So, what do I do if my dog got into marijuana?

Get to a veterinarian or emergency veterinarian immediately. That’s because your veterinarian will want to determine if it’s appropriate to decontaminate your dog or cat (e.g., induce vomiting). This should be performed carefully, as if your dog is already sedate from the marijuana, it’s TOO LATE to induce vomiting. You can see my YouTube video on how to induce vomiting in dogs here. 

In most situations, your veterinarian may need to “pump the stomach” and perform gastric lavage under anesthesia instead. If you are going to your veterinarian, show them this page HERE for helpful information from the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center for treatment:

https://www.aspcapro.org/resource/shelter-health-poison-control/marijuana-toxicosis-animals

Other treatment may include IV fluids, anti-vomiting medication,  thermoregulation, nursing care, anti-anxiety medication, and monitoring (e.g., electrocardiogram, blood pressure, pulse oximetry, end-tidal CO2, etc.), depending on how severe the signs of poisoning are.  When in doubt, contact the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center 24/7 if you think your pet was exposed – or get to your ER VET ASAP to be safe!