Megan Stadler, DVM, and Julien Guillaumin, DVM, DACVECC, DECVECC, present the case of Stevie, a pit bull presented for an emergency examination approximately three hours after the owner noticed an acute onset of lethargic behavior. The owner affirmed that Stevie had the potential for recent marijuana exposure, but there was no way to confirm it.
Stevie’s experience is a clinical situation that is becoming more frequent for veterinary teams. The prognosis for marijuana intoxication is generally good, with appropriate treatment. Fatalities are rare but have been documented.
Source: Clinician’s Brief, April 2019. Link. Patients with nonsevere marijuana intoxication may improve slowly over the course of a few hours, in which case some owners may elect to take their pet home.
Treatment at a glance
- If recent ingestion is known, early decontamination (eg, induction of emesis, administration of activated charcoal) should be performed if the patient is stable.
- Treatment is mostly based on supportive care for clinical signs (eg, intravenous fluid support, thermoregulation).
- Intravenous lipid emulsion therapy has been reported in severe cases, as THC is a highly lipid-soluble compound.
INSIGHTS: The pharmacokinetics of marijuana in dogs is similar to that in humans. Clinical signs in dogs typically appear within one to three hours and can last up to 36 to 48 hours after exposure. To date, the accuracy of OTC urine drug screen tests has not been validated in dogs.
Also see: Apparently, high dogs don’t get the munchies, sheknows, May 2014. Link.
. . . pets that eat pot don’t appear to get the munchies like humans.