Hello:
I am a long time lurker, but your post made me decide to join. I hope that the following will be helpful and of interest.
Plz forgive the long winded post, but there is a lot to tell.
I am a resident of Nevada USA, where pretty much anything cannabis can be legally purchased (by those over 18 yrs old or with a legal guardian's consent) in a licensed dispensary. All products sold must be licensed by Nevada, and the quality (no pesticides etc) attested to by a state lab (note..there have been a few problems with the labs). We used to be able to buy pet specific CBD products, but apparently the dispensarys were "persuaded" to eliminate the pet lines by the FDA and certain state authorities.
I do not believe in pet specific CBD products, since they are usually 2-3 times the price of human grade dispensary CBD, which has to be of the highest quality anyway. It is VITAL that the CBD is pure; not purchased from dubious sources (like gas stations believe it or not, or head shops)
MOST IMPORTANT is that there is little to no THC in the mixture(<.3%) for your dogs!!!!
Unfortunately CBD has been promoted to unrealistic proportions. I have taken CBD myself before giving it to my now departed senior friend. For me it did nothing..but for my 14 yr old girl..it worked wonders for 6 months of additional happy life. She became puppy like again and started demanding and enjoying her food again. Her mini seizures had all but stopped for that wonderful 6 months. She had returned to her job..me.
Alas there is no cure for old age,
, and I made a promise to both of us that she would never suffer. She was a rescued Border Collie that had become my heart dog. (had her from 5 -14.5 yrs of age.)
There are many anecdotal stories about miracle cures using CBD...I don't go for that either, since it's become hard to separate fact from fiction..There is a lot of money involved here. From what I have learned, CBD can help some dogs (and some people) with certain conditions..
but not all.
Vets in my state are not permitted to even discuss CBD. I was able to get around this once by asking my long time vet if CBD would hurt my dog. Her answer was a resounding NO! End of discussion..LOL
My girl was so old and getting feeble and unhappy, that I had actually made the final appointment, only to happily cancel it a week later after initially noticing signs of improvment that had begun.
Herin lies the rub..Vets are not permitted to research or even speak about anything CBD related. so any possible positive (or negative) events go undiscovered and unreported.
I am somewhat lucky here and already had a full working knowledge of Cannabis (the full
spectrum CBD oil that I gave my dog was human grade cannabis sativa derived with <3% THC.) I am legally able to grow my own meds as a MMJ card holder under Nevada Statutes (NRS).
Dogs do not do well with THC since they have many more THC receptors then we do. They can OD on it. It is not a pretty sight and can be downright dangerous.
I think that your best approach might be to reachout to others that you might know.
It is IMPERATIVE to follow any and all laws withing the jurisdiction in which you reside.
You can also google mail order CBD firms and listen to their sales pitch. If it sounds to be too good....you know the rest. You will find consistancies and inconsistancies, as well as a wide variety of prices between everything..human and pet products. LOTS OF RESEARCH IS REQUIRED.
The product that I used for my dog, was from a dispensary, with a guaranteed analysis by the state. It was very resonable at the time and was grown and produced by that particular dispensary. ($20 usd for 30ml with my MMJ discount). Alas it is no more, and seems to have been abandoned in favor of CBD from 3rd party liscensed sources at 3x the price. (note: from seed to harvest and final product;everything licensed is tracked by the state)
Finally, I used the human weight scale on the bottle to dose her. As with anything cannabis..less is more, so start slowly. You can always give more later if needed. I saw results in 2 weeks or so with her, but obviously results will vary. (or not even be apparent). After 3 weeks..she was a new dog!
disclaimers.
I am a huge proponent.
I legally grow and use the meds myself. Thankfully, well into my senior yrs; I don't take anything except an occasional asprin. I was able to ditch the nasty pain medicine (10 yrs of perscriptions) after a month of my own treatment, with the approval of my doctor. Side benefit is that once again..I can sleep!
I have become very anti FDA regarding their classification of cannabis as having no medicinal value
(class 1, like heroin) Industrial hemp is now legally farmed.
Actually the HHS and FDA own a patent on certain medical uses for cannabinoids. My position has been amplified by my own successes, both personal and with my now departed dog. (I have 3 other dogs..7 (Mini Aussie), 2.5 (Border Collie/Choc. Lab cross), and 1.5 yr old Golden Retriever
).
I can discuss CBD/THC with my own doctor, but not with my vet. My doctor has been astonished, but that's a different story)
Here's the HHS/FDA US patent number:
6,630,507 The filing date was 2001; granted 2003, and the assignee is: "
The United States of America as represented by the Department of Health and Human Services (Washington, DC)" <from the patent>
