Survey Results on Cannabis for Veterinary Use in Argentina

Results are in from an online survey of Argentinian cannabis veterinarians and their use of cannabis as a medicine for pets, specifically dogs and cats (1). The study, titled “Cannabis and pathologies in dogs and cats: first survey of phytocannabinoid use in veterinary medicine in Argentina,” was published in November 2023 in the Journal of Cannabis Research (1).

Cannabis for dogs, cats, and horses has been reported and studied, however, veterinarians in the US and Canada are not legally able to prescribe cannabis for pets, the authors stated, though cannabis for veterinarian use is not regulated in the European Union (1). In Argentina, the focus area for this study, a recent law modification allowed for use of cannabis for treating animals, yet scientific research in this area is uncommon, which prompted the researchers to focus on how prevalent the use of cannabinoids in veterinary medicine is in the country (1). “We hypothesize that using phytocannabinoids could improve patients’ quality of life with several pathologies, alone or combined with conventional treatments,” the authors stated in the Introduction (1).

The survey questionnaire was conducted in 2021 between May and November and, regarding the cannabis, included questions about the chemotype of the cannabis oil, concentration of cannabinoids, dose and route, and also how the animal responded to the treatment (1). For dogs, the most common conditions treated were pain, seizures, and behavioral disorders (1). For cats, the conditions treated also included behavioral disorders and pain, as well as dental and skin conditions and autoimmune diseases (1). “Full-spectrum cannabis extract derived from three different chemotypes was utilized,” the authors stated, and contained tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) (1). The authors also included a detailed analysis of the levels of improvement of the conditions: “This analysis provides promising results regarding the medicinal use of cannabis in dogs and cats,” they concluded (1). “Based on this analysis, we propose to expand the training of professionals, obtain quality preparations, and initiate controlled trials to reinforce knowledge of the use of cannabinoids in veterinary medicine,” (1).

The exploratory survey was reportedly the first of its kind (1).

Interested in more on this subject? For a research overview on cannabis for pets, check out our recent blog.

Reference

1. Banach, D.; Ferrero, P. Cannabis and pathologies in dogs and cats: First survey of phytocannabinoid use in veterinary medicine in Argentina. Journal of Cannabis Research 2023, 5 (1) DOI: 10.1186/s42238-023-00209-5.