There is hardly any plant that is as potent -
and at the same time as misunderstood -
as hemp.
Which might have to do with the fact, that people get pretty emotional when it comes to those green leaves with the catchy shape and famous smell.
So let`s do something lil` crazy. Let`s put our uncertainty, prejudices and half-knowledge aside and start with the basics:
Dope, weed, marijuna,...
...in common usage there are a lot of terms floating around. Not all of them do necessarily mean the same thing. While a lot of terms are really just other names for the psychoactive, 60s cult herb used in joints, cannabis is actually so much more than that. Cannabis is the botanical name of a complete plant family, that in common usage is also called hemp. The shared history of menkind and hemp goes back at least 6.000 years and always included it as basic material for textile and tools but also medicine.
So our first learning is, there are different types of hemp, and not every type is "making us high". Why is that?
Because the stuff that makes us high is the chemical component THC (tetra-hydrocannabinol). CBD (cannabidiol) on the other hand is the main component that is centrally important for the use of hemp in medical purposes, i.e. pain therapy with cancer patients.
When talking about hemp or one of its common equivalent names in health issues or related to treatment of diseases, most common dosage form is an oil that comes from either industrial hemp (which does not contain THC) or a processed version of cannabis that innitially did contain THC - but now does not anymore.
This is I think the most important fact:
Do not be afraid of CBD-oil to have psychoactive effects on your dog.
Pure CBD-oil is not psychoactive, it`s usually a mix of hemp with olive oil, but does not contain THC a.k.a. the stuff that makes you high.
Although there is no scientific proof on the effects of CBD to certain diseases or symptoms, a broad variety of studies on the effect of CBD to humans and canids are showing positive results on otherwise life-threatening diseases such as:
- cancer (anti-tumor effect, stops cancer cells from growing)
- anxiety disorders
- epilepsy
- inflammatory bowel disease
- chronic inflammation
- neurodegenerative diseases such as alzheimers
- damage to the heart and blood vessels
The good thing about CBD furthermore is:
there are no known side effects...apart from potentially getting sleepy or gaining one or two kilos, since it might increase human same as canid appetite. So careful if you live with an anyway permanently starving labrador ;)
Personally we do treat our old bardino-mix lady Nala with CBD-oil for her cataract and we believe it will slow down the progress.
That does neither mean, that we do not visit the vet regularly to get her checked, nor that we trust CBD can cure everything just by itself.
The important thing is, it does not do any harm and if we are lucky it helps her maintain a good state of health for a very long time.
Talking about pros and cons, there is one I find pretty relevant. To me, CBD-oil does taste horrible. But in the end, medicine is not about taste but about effect. That is maybe the reason why our old bardino-girl Nala with her cataract loves its taste, because she feels that it indeed does help her, while big boy Buddy, fit as a fiddle, couldn't care less.
What does that mean for CBD-treatment for your dog?
- First, not all CBD-oils are the same. Make sure you buy high quality from organic sources. Quality suppliers do not hesitate to reply to you with lab analysis results of their product if you ask for it.
- Second, quality comes with cost. Check the amount of CBD and start with a 5% CBD-oil. I do not recommend using treats with CBD share. There is no chance to be on top of dosage or quality.
- And third, start slow with just one or two drops and increase gradually, always depending on your dogs body weight.
Be aware that this first tiny intro can only be your initial puppy step into the huge topic of cannabis and its non-hippiestyle superpowers. We are happy to give you more insights as part of our dog nutrition consulting service (www.buddygoesbananas.com) and gladly also recommend specialist literature on the topic such as Marijuana Medicine written by Christian Rätsch.
