By Phyllis Pollack

A two-page survey has recently surfaced in Los Angeles collectives, which seemingly encourages people to give marijuana to their pets. The questionnaire was compiled by a local veterinarian, who asks participants to describe what happens when they give weed to their animals.

While claiming he is “conducting clinical studies with live patients, shaped largely by the results of information collected in this survey,” such results would be inconclusive and certainly unscientific. Lay people often project their own experiences, personality traits and viewpoints onto their pets, and they are not trained to understand physiological responses in animals.

Many veterinarians have had to treat animals that were negatively impacted by eating marijuana, because it is toxic to them. A receptionist at a San Fernando Valley veterinary office, who did not want to be identified in this article, confirms this, warning, “We get at least five to seven cases a week. Death has happened.”

Eric Coggsdale, a registered veterinary technician at Eagle Rock Emergency Pet Clinic, agrees that it is a bad idea to give it to pets, and states that if given enough weed, “They can certainly get toxic.” He notes that he sees cases of marijuana-dosed animals “several times a month.”

He explains, “The people usually deny having marijuana in the home, but the problems is that there are some tell tale signs we see. The owner will be reluctant to admit it until we tell them we know the classic signs.”

He cautions, “I have heard of animals dying from this. However, they have to eat a lot of it. The dose where they have behavior abnormalities is much less. They can ingest a small amount and have behavioral changes.”

The animals often panic while going through marijuana induced bodily changes, not understanding what is going on. He compared it to a person being dosed with LSD, without being told what had happened. He noted that systemic changes include heart rate issues.

Similarly, the poison center at the American Society For The Prevention of Cruelty To Animals (ASPCA) states of marijuana, “Ingestion of Cannabis sativa by companion animals can result in depression of the central nervous system and incoordination, as well as vomiting, diarrhea, drooling, increased heart rate, and even seizures and coma.”

Given these findings, it seems unconscionable that a veterinarian would ask for volunteers to test marijuana on their animals in his survey without any warning. Any pet lover should be properly notified that he or she might be taking a huge risk.

Unfortunately, many doctors take advantage of their patients by selling them useless products, including overly priced vitamins, useless wrinkle creams and other forms of snake oils. This should not be the case with medical marijuana. When it comes to pets, not only is it wacky, it can be downright dangerous.