Push for medicinal cannabis for pets over black market overdose fears

A vet is leading a push for cannabis medicines to be made legal for pets to stop the dangerous trend of owners overdosing sick animals with black market products.

A Brisbane vet is leading a push for cannabis medicines to be made legal for pets, to stop the dangerous trend of owners overdosing sick animals with black market CBD.

Vets are currently able to treat animals with cannabidiol, but are not allowed to prescribe any medication containing tetrahydrocannabinols (THC).

Marta Calvo Blanco, head of veterinary operations at eCS Vet (Endocannabinoid System Veterinary Centre), has made a detailed submission to the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) to improve cannabis legislation for the benefit of animal health but the TGA announced an interim decision that they will not amend the existing Poison Standard regulations due to perceived risks and toxicity of cannabinoid substances for animals.

Dr Calvo Blanco and eCS Vet are determined to push further with the application to the TGA by the April 11 deadline.

“This submission is supported by many vets and we will keep pushing for change,” Dr Calvo Blanco said.

“While case studies show that CBD can be beneficial in treating conditions like anxiety or inflammation, many more animal patients could benefit from medications containing THC and other components of the cannabis plant.

“It is vital we intervene to stop pet owners buying CBD on the black market and giving their animals human doses of unregulated substances.

“It would be better for everyone if vets were able to control the administering of CBD.”

Brisbane vet of 25 years Dr Lisca Martinez has been prescribing CBD for a year with “extremely positive” results.

She started looking into CBD as a safer option for chronic-pain patients that may not be able to cope with current prescription pain medicines.

“I have prescribed CBD for chronic arthritic pain, spinal conditions, anxiety, skin conditions,

cognitive dysfunction especially with dysregulation for sleeping patterns and palliative care. Owners with their own experience of using CBD are actively looking for this option for their

pets,” she said.

“If it was easier to prescribe and dispense a quality, controlled CBD medicine, more vets

would be happier to use it.

“At present, a lot of owners are sourcing highly questionable

products from the internet which are not good for our patients and can be a big waste of

money.”

Medical cannabis treatments have been available for human therapeutic use since 2016.

Over this time, the patient demand has been increasing.