It might help, but vets can’t talk about it
A California law banning veterinarians from talking to pet owners about using medical marijuana for their dogs and cats stands out, even in the strange and loopy world of American drug laws.
“It’s ridiculous,” said Dr. John Fitzpatrick, a Guerneville veterinarian. “It doesn’t make any sense.”
Doctors, nurses and even dentists can talk to patients about medical marijuana, but vets can’t, said Fitzpatrick, who operates the Russian River Veterinary Clinic.
“We’re the only health professionals who can’t talk about it,” said Fitzpatrick. “It’s very frustrating.”
His clients are increasingly asking about treating their pets’ ailments with medical marijuana, but under current state law governing vets, “I can’t even discuss it,” said Fitzpatrick.
The gag order on vets may change soon, under a state assembly bill (AB-2215) now moving through the legislature. Proposed by Assemblymember Ash Kalra of San Jose and sponsored by the California Veterinary Medical Association, the bill would allow vets to discuss medical marijuana as an option for pets, although it stops short of allowing veterinarians to prescribe cannabis products.
As things stand, California veterinarians can be subject to criminal prosecution and loss of license “if they are incorporating cannabis into their practices,” said Kalra (D-San Jose) in a summary of the need for his proposed legislation issued last month by a state senate committee.
“Though this bill would not allow a veterinarian to recommend cannabis to a client, it would allow them to discuss cases in which an animal may have ingested cannabis unintentionally or if it may be an option for medical use which the client is considering,” said a senate Legislative Counsel’s Digest comments last month.
California’s recent Medicinal and Adult-Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act (MAUCRSA) only addresses medical marijuana use for humans.
The new law would protect pet owners from prosecution for giving their pets medical marijuana and shield veterinarians from having their licenses taken away by the state Veterinary Medical Board (VMB) that regulates veterinarians in California.
The bill prohibits the VMB “from disciplining or denying, revoking, or suspending the license of a licensed veterinarian solely for discussing the use of cannabis on an animal for medical purposes,” said the Legislative Counsel Digest.
With vets barred from discussing medical cannabis with clients, pet owners are getting advice from the internet, friends, dispensary clerks and who knows what other sources that may not be medically sound.
“Clearly this structure is not in the best interest or health of the animal patient,” said the state senate committee report on cannabis and veterinarians last month.
Instead, veterinarians should be an available resource for informed advice on medical cannabis use in pets, “not all these other people,” said Veterinary Medical Association Executive Director Valerie Fenstermaker in a Sacramento Bee story this year about the pending veterinary legislation. “Some veterinarians have expressed that they receive questions daily about this.”
The Bee story quoted Tim Shu, a veterinarian and medical cannabis advocate who agreed that pet owner interest in alternative medicine is a rapidly growing component of the whole medical marijuana landscape.
“The cat is out of the bag on this,” said Shu. “Clients want to be able to discuss this with their veterinarians.”
Legal cannabis options that are open for California pet owners include CBD (cannabidiol) pet products that are not classified as a dangerous drug under state and federal law. They are usually sold as over-the-counter oils or edible treats, promising relief for anxiety, inflammation, pain, seizures, cancer and general health.
Barkers, a pet supply store in Guerneville, sells medicinal pet treats such as Holistic Hound and Treatibles to customers interested in medical cannabis, often for older dogs and cats.
Barkers owner Karen Young said she’s getting lots of inquiries from pet owners who have heard about CBDs and want to try them out on older pets whose agility and energy may be slowing.
Young used one of her products, Treatibles, to help her 19-year-old cat who was listless and “down to skin and bones and sneezing like crazy,” said Young. Soon afterward her pet was lively, going outside, getting around better “and purring again.”
When Young’s older dog had several teeth extracted, “He was clearly damn uncomfortable,” said Young. “You could just see it.” But after using Treatibles with CBD, “You could see him mellow outright away. He was doing very well,” said Young.
“I truly believe in it now,” said Young about cannabis for pets. “CBDs are going to be the thing of the future for animals and people.”
