Current rules forbid vets from prescribing cannabis products, and what’s available on the market isn’t always safe for animals
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OTTAWA – Veterinarians say they’ve been weeded out of Canada’s cannabis policy after assurances that they’d be included in the legalization framework.
Despite Canada allowing both medical and recreational sales of cannabis, no such legal pathway exists for animal medicine — something Dr. Sarah Silcox, founder of the Canadian Association of Veterinary Cannabinoid Medicine (CAVCM,) hopes to change.
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“We’ve been at this for six years now, engaging in the best way we know how,” she told the National Post.
“We held dogs on Parliament Hill back in 2019, we made several trips to talk to MPs and Senators, we had a petition in the House of Commons that received sufficient signatures to warrant a response — but then the House rose before the petition closed, and it just vanished.”
With its use becoming both socially and legally acceptable in many societies, cannabis is seeing increasing interest among veterinarians for use in everything from anxiety to managing pain.
Recent studies exploring the effectiveness of using non-psychoactive cannabidiol (CBD) injections to manage osteoarthritis pain in dogs found good results with minimal side effects.
Results of a joint Canadian-Israeli study released in August found promising results among six dogs unresponsive to conventional treatments that showed significant drops in pain level and an increase in activity.
Other studies suggest promise in using cannabis for treating epilepsy in dogs
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Dr. Ian Sandler is chair of the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association’s national issues committee and agrees there’s a lot of potential for veterinary cannabis.
“Veterinarians should be able to access and use these products on a case-by-case basis,” he said.
“We think that there is the need for these products to be used safely and legally within the veterinary market, but unfortunately we have really been blocked out of this process from day one.”
Animals have endocannabinoid systems similar enough to humans to react in similar ways to cannabis.
While dogs’ brains have more CB1 receptors than humans and are more sensitive to its effects, neither CBD nor tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) — the psychoactive cannabinoid found in recreational weed — are toxic to dogs.
In 2019, both the CAVCM and the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA) held meetings with the federal health minister’s office over veterinary cannabis, which Silcox said ended on a positive note.
“The representative at that time was quite sympathetic to the position that the current regulations put us in, and acknowledged that it was no doubt an oversight when the cannabis regulations were initially drafted,” she said, explaining they were told that veterinary use would be part of the ongoing policy review.
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“So we submitted letters in advance.”
Those submissions, she said, were never acknowledged.
“We have seen a tremendous growth in the amount of published research looking at the use of cannabinoids in treating animals, we even have a full textbook on cannabis in veterinary medicine,” Silcox said.
“Oftentimes, these pets are already on multiple anticonvulsant medications, and yet still having breakthrough seizures. And just like with people, pet families want to know that they are being given the option of all the available treatments out there.”
Vets discourage owners from blindly feeding pets cannabis products from dispensaries.
As products such as edibles aren’t meant for animal consumption, many contain compounds toxic to animals, including chocolate and artificial sweeteners like xylitol, which can be deadly for dogs even in small amounts.
“Veterinarians can utilize all types of human products off-label, including some very significant ones like hydromorphone and other opiates and other anesthetics. We use fentanyl for pain in pets,” Sandler said.
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“So the fact that we are not able to authorize the use of cannabinoid-based products through the medical route is the first time that we’ve not been aligned with our human-prescribing counterparts, which is very, very strange.”
A statement from Health Canada said veterinary prescription drugs containing cannabis are subject to the same review as any other pharmaceutical.
“Health Canada scientists will then review the evidence to determine whether the risks associated with the drug are acceptable in light of its potential benefits,” the statement read.
The statement also referred to a July 2022 notice to stakeholders inviting submissions on potential regulatory gaps for CBD-containing non-prescription health products for both humans and non-humans.
“Health Canada considered veterinary medicine during the development of the cannabis regulations, specifically in relation to the study and approval of veterinary medicines containing cannabis,” the statement read.
“On October 17, 2018, Health Canada amended the Human and Veterinary Prescription Drug List to include phytocannabinoids to ensure appropriate oversight of health products containing cannabis that make authorized health claims.”
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Current regulations state that both natural health and veterinary health products must contain no more than 10 parts per million THC, and no isolated or concentrated phytocannabinoids.
“Accordingly, any health product containing phytocannabinoids, outside of these exceptions, are classified as a prescription drug,” Health Canada’s statement read.
Meanwhile, Silcox maintains that veterinarians should be the best resource for pet owners interested in treating their pets with cannabinoids.
“I’ve had clients get unsolicited advice from budtenders in those retail shops, often grossly inaccurate,” she said.
“I’ve been had clients say that they went to purchase a product I recommended and were told it would kill their pet. I’ve had clients be refused sale when they mentioned it was for a pet.”
As well, industry turbulence and inconsistent stock available store-to-store and even province-to-province makes it uncertain if a known-good product will still be available as time goes on.
“When we look at things from a national level, it’s not the same in every province,” Silcox said.
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“I have a colleague in the Yukon and they have a small handful, like 3 or 4 products, that they can choose from that would be suitable for use in pets.”
That, she says, often drives owners to the illicit market, where standards and consistency fall far short of legal products.
“There is a robust black market for pet products,” Silcox said.
“We never know what’s in those products because they’re not regulated.”
Dr. Sandler said veterinarians should be the last word on discussing and prescribing cannabinoids to pets.
“As practitioners as health care practitioners for animals in Canada, we are the best individuals to really assess the use of these products,” he said.
• Email: [email protected] | X: @bryanpassifiume
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