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Vets see an increasing number of dogs sickened by marijuana

Veterinarians warn they are seeing an increase in dogs sickened after ingesting marijuana
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Veterinarians say they’re seeing an increasing number of dogs sickened after ingesting marijuana, and are warning pet owners to take care as Canada prepares for cannabis legalization this year.

RELATED: Marijuana legalization passes in House of Commons

Dr. Jeff Goodall, a veterinarian who runs the Sunnyview Animal Centre in Bedford, N.S., says he’s seeing a growing number of dogs with marijuana toxicity.

Goodall says he saw five cases in 2017, three in 2016, and none the year before that.

He says the THC in marijuana doesn’t make the dog high. Rather, it makes them very sick — wobbling, crying, and urinating uncontrollably, and in rare cases it can lead to death.

Goodall says he’d like to see warnings and greater public education on what marijuana can do to pets.

In Colorado, where recreational marijuana was legalized in 2012, there was a four-fold increase in reported cases of toxicity in dogs between 2010 and 2015.

The Canadian Press

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