THIS IS WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO YOUR DOG IF YOU GIVE IT CANNABIS

Not a sentence I ever thought I'd write but the issue of animals eating Cannabis is becoming an increasingly relevant one. Last year Weed culture organ The Cannabist reported that the number of people posing questions to answer.com about Marijuana and Pets had risen by 65 percent with a connection being made to Weed's increasingly widespread legalisation throughout the World. VICE Canada reported that vets are preparing to deal with an increase of pets being poisoned by Cannabis when Recreational Cannabis becomes Legal. So you see it is A Thing.

 Lets find out how dangerous Cannabis actually is for our tiny adorable friends.

How toxic is Cannabis to animals?

Cannabis is toxic to any animal in exactly the same way it is with humans. The thing with animals is they vary hugely in size so some can reach toxic levels much quicker than humans. Also their body physiologically can do different things. So you take something we class as harmless like Cannabis infused Chocolate that's poisonous to dogs the way it breaks down in the body. As it stands we don't have any formal research with Cannabis with animals though.

What symptoms are they likely to experience?

They are often present as neurological signs. They can be depression or ataxia [a vestibular disease that causes an unbalanced gait], seizures, tremors and behavioural changes. They might go into a stupor but they may also become hyperactive. You'll often get gastrointestinal signs so you'll see them get sick or quite unwell.

What are "Depressions"?

They go pretty flat out. They don’t want to do much. They won't come when you call their name. Maybe they’ll urinate in the house. They'll just be pretty depressed looking.

Possible hyperactivity. Is a physical effect of the Cannabis or because they are feeling confused?

We don't know because it's not something we'd put to a research paper. But if animals are confused and feeling a way they don't understand this could lead to hyperactivity.

Could an animal die from Cannabis ?

There is always a danger of death giving an animal something they shouldn't have whether it's Marijuana, Chocolate or Ibuprofen. But if you get prompt treatment and give as much information as possible the outcomes can be much better. But if you look at animals that are having a seizure, seizures themselves are dangerous so the symptoms can cause really harmful effects.

Is there any chance the animals will enjoy the experience of being stoned?

It's not a pleasant outcome for the animals. It's not a pleasant experience and they shouldn't be going through it.

Would the effects be more profound on a smaller animal like a hamster or a rabbit?

They are more likely to get to toxic levels quicker. Take the example of a child if a child was younger it would be more of a concern if they'd taken a drug whether it was legitimate or not.

If you smoked in the house could your pet get stoned though second-hand smoke?

Again no tests have been done but we would presume they can. If you look at nicotine and second-hand smoking dogs can ingest that. You find it in hair samples. So there's no reason why they couldn't.

Do people ever act like they’re not sure why their animal has gotten sick when it's actually through them Eating Cannabis?

That is the most problematic thing. Some people will come in with an animal and fairly understandably they don't want to mention about their Cannabis consumption. But the most important thing is that we know. The vets aren't there to judge. They don't care. The easiest way to treat is to give them all the info straight away.

What about other drugs? Are these more dangerous for animals?

Never seen anything with ecstasy, but we have seen a few instances with cocaine. It's pretty awful for pets and they are at a fairly high risk of death, usually through very high heart rates. As with anything whether it's aspirin, contraception tablets any medication you wouldn't let a toddler take it has to be the same for pets. Keep them away.