Colorado
veterinarians have a message for medical marijuana users: Don't get your
dog stoned. Marijuana is toxic in a dog's system, they say, and has
even resulted in some canine deaths."There are huge spikes in the
frequency of marijuana ingestion in places where it's become legal,"
veterinarian Dr. Debbie Van Pelt told local CBS affiliate WTSP.
"They basically have lost a lot of their fine motor control, they have a
wide-based stance and they are not sure on their feet."Before medical marijuana was
legalized in Colorado, local vets say they saw only a handful of cases
of dogs exposed to the substance per year. But now, those numbers have
more than quadrupled.The vets say most of the dogs are
getting high from medical marijuana edibles left out in the open by
their owners. Marijuana edibles are cookies, brownies and other foods
prepared with a butter laced with THC, the psychoactive ingredient in
pot.And while some pet owners may think it's funny to get their dogs high, the vets say pot is actually toxic to a dog's system. Cats are similarly vulnerable
to negative effects from inhaling second-hand marijuana smoke or eating
edibles. Cat experts say many owners inaccurately believe that
marijuana will have a similar effect on their cats as catnip."I just want dogs, kids to be
safe. It needs to be treated like any other drug. If you came home with a
prescription of Vicodin from your doctor you wouldn't just leave it
sitting there," veterinarian Stacy Meola told the station.In fact, Dr. Meola said that two
dogs recently died after ingesting a lethal amount of marijuana. Such
deaths are rare, but even in cases in which a dog's life is not
threatened, the dog may still be subjected to painful symptoms,
including vomiting and even comas."We need people to realize it is potentially toxic and potentially fatal to their pets," Van Pelt said.