What to do if your pet eats your weed or THC edibles

It isn’t just humans who have easier access to weed now that more laws around marijuana have been relaxed. An increasing number of dogs, cats and other pets are accidentally consuming marijuana - and experiencing the potentially dangerous symptoms of THC toxicity.

On Christmas Eve, Meiyee Apple Tam came home to find the jar of THC-infused edibles that was usually placed on her coffee table strewn across the floor. Ernie, a 9-year-old pug she was watching while her boss traveled, sat on a chair, grimacing. He had consumed between 8 and 10 milligrams of THC.

“I was like, ‘Oh, no, no, no, no. . . It was fear. It was panic,” says Tam. “And it was a series of panic Googling.”

Tam called an animal poison control hotline that recommended she contact a vet. Ernie’s doctor advised waiting at home to let him rest. After 12 hours of experiencing symptoms such as hyper-reactivity and incontinence, Ernie returned to his usual self (and Tam says her boss was understanding). But the outcome isn’t always so happy.

More than half of U.S. states have legalized medical marijuana, and 21 have legalized recreational use (Washington, D.C. has legalized both). Christine Klippen, a vet at Friendship Hospital for Animals in D.C., says she treats at least a half-dozen animals each week who have ingested weed, a noticeable rise since D.C. voted to legalize marijuana in 2014.

This year, for the first time, recreational drugs made the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center’s list of Top 10 toxins for pets. The organization fielded nearly 300 percent more calls about marijuana toxicity in 2022 compared with five years prior.

Keeping pets safe, vets say, will depend on more humans learning to recognize the symptoms of marijuana poisoning - and taking measures to prevent them in the first place. Here’s what to know.

Dogs and marijuana

According to the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center (APCC), most cases of marijuana toxicity in dogs involve baked goods laced with cannabis, which is more dangerous than ingesting plant material because of high doses of THC concentrates. Human users might limit their intake to one portion, but animals - particularly dogs - are more likely to consume larger amounts, according to Tina Wismer, senior director of the APCC. “They’re going to eat the whole pan of brownies, or that whole batch of chocolate chip cookies,” she says.

Marijuana toxicity can also occur when dogs eat the remains of plant material that hasn’t been disposed of properly, like part of a joint leftover in a home or on the sidewalk. These cases become more common after large outdoor events, or during times of year when more people smoke outside, Klippen says. The fecal matter of human users can, when consumed by animals, also be toxic.

The size of a dog can impact how vulnerable it is to marijuana toxicity, but Doug Kratt, veterinarian at Wisconsin’s Central Animal Hospital and former president of the American Veterinary Medical Association, says it’s important to remember that dogs are five times more sensitive to marijuana than their owners.

Cats and marijuana

Cats are also at some risk of ingesting marijuana via edibles or discarded joints, but they are especially prone to nibbling on marijuana plants, says Wismer, which can be dangerous. Cats experience most of the same marijuana toxicity symptoms as dogs.

The bottom line, says Lori Teller, president of the American Veterinary Medical Association, is that pet owners should be cautious anytime cannabis is present, in any form. “Anytime [animals] have access to marijuana, they are at risk for poisoning, whether that’s in the household, visiting someone else’s house, or if it happens to be not well contained [outside],” she says.

Can pets get high?

Animals react to THC, the cannabis extract that causes “highs,” differently than humans - they experience poisoning, not a high.

While being in the same room as secondhand marijuana smoke is generally not dangerous to animals, purposely blowing smoke into a pet’s face can be harmful, says Wismer.

Symptoms of THC toxicity in pets

When dogs and cats consume marijuana, they may experience lethargy, depression, changes to their heartrate and blood pressure, vomiting, seizures, dilated pupils, excessive saliva and decreased body temperature. Pets may “look like they’re drunk,” Wismer says, with wobbly movements, inability to walk or hyper-reactivity. When you reach for a pet experiencing marijuana intoxication, they may jump back or seem startled. Dogs might exhibit urinary incontinence and fail to respond to their name. In severe cases, pets may experience respiratory depression or coma. Death is rare but possible.

Since edible marijuana products often come in the form of sweets, poisoning from chocolate and artificial sweeteners can concur with marijuana toxicity.

Other pets

Dogs and cats are not the only kinds of pets affected by marijuana. Outdoor animals such as horses are prone to getting into home gardens and can experience toxicity from munching marijuana plants. Smaller pets such as rabbits, ferrets and birds can be affected, too, and are most vulnerable to getting into plant material in plastic bags or ashtrays, according to Wismer

When to call the vet

If you have any suspicion that a pet is exhibiting symptoms of marijuana toxicity, call your vet or an animal poison control hotline immediately. Treatments could include intravenous fluids, induced vomiting or moderating blood pressure.

Marijuana is “very hard to test for” in pets, Klippen says, and the symptoms of marijuana ingestion can look like serious neurologic diseases. That’s why it’s important to be honest with your vet if you suspect your pet is experiencing marijuana poisoning.

“I don’t care if you smoke weed, or you do edibles,” Klippen says. “What I do care about is that you lock stuff up, you dispose of things properly, and if there’s a potential that your pet could have gotten into it, just be completely open and transparent with me. I’m not going to call anybody. I just want to do what’s best for the pet.”

Preventing marijuana toxicity

In your home, treat marijuana like you might treat medications or dangerous items if there were children present, Teller advises. Keep marijuana products inside a tight container or locked cabinet, or on a high-up shelf. Outside, be aware of what your pet eats. Keep your dog leashed while on walks, and reserve off-leash time for designated dog-friendly areas where people are less likely to dispose of marijuana products.

Even if you’re not a pet owner, be mindful of other people’s animals by properly disposing of cannabis waste, including edibles, extracts and oils, plant material and vape pens. Klippen recommends sealing such waste in a container and throwing it into regular trash.

What about marijuana products marketed for pets?

Treats and other pet products with CBD derived from marijuana have become increasingly popular as a way to treat arthritis, seizures and other ailments in pets. But there is a key difference between these items and the type of weed you’d find in a human joint or pan of special brownies: These pet products contain little to no THC, which is the agent in marijuana products that causes toxicity in animals.

Still, there are several reasons owners should approach CBD pet products with some skepticism. There are quality issues with CBD treats; according to Teller, up to 70 percent of marijuana-based products currently available for pets do not contain the concentration they claim on the label, and some don’t contain any CBD at all.

CBD can also contain around 0.3 percent THC, says Wismer, so if you use these products, you’ll have to be careful about the amount you give to your pet. “If animals are getting an appropriate dose, it’s not a problem,” she says. “We have seen animals who think that a whole bag of treats is a single serving, and they will ingest it all and end up with marijuana-type signs. Dose determines the poison.”

While early studies show that CBD-infused pet products may be helpful in treating conditions such as seizures and arthritis when combined with more traditional medication, more research is needed. “Right now, we really recommend that clients talk to their veterinarians about therapeutics that are truly proven to work,” says Teller. “As we get more information, better research. . .safety data. . .and things move through the FDA process, then it will be a lot easier for us to make actual therapeutic recommendations.”