I seem to be the go-to guy on the internet for questions about pets and marijuana – such as, “Is it dangerous to smoke weed in dogs?”
It started when I was writing a few blog posts about what to do if your dog breaks into a stash of marijuana. At around the same time, I also created a comprehensive website with 100 articles on canine and cat diseases, syndromes, and treatments. One of the issues covered was marijuana poisoning. The article on marijuana really got noticed.
Newspapers (including SF Weekly) and a number of pro-cannabis websites have quoted me – always without permission, always without contacting me, and sometimes out of context. I am speaking about marijuana intoxication in dogs in a simple and non-judgmental way. Unfortunately, this has led some people to misunderstand that I advocate stoning dogs. For the record: I definitely don’t.
Photography by Irina Kozorog / Shutterstock.
Questions about marijuana and dogs
Because of this “fame,” I get a number of questions about dogs (and other animals) and marijuana. Many of them are ridiculous to the point of absurdity. But not every question I get is absurd. Consider the following question of whether smoking weed around dogs is dangerous:
I have dr. Barchas’ post on dogs who ingest marijuana through food, but what does a dog (in this case, a 50-pound 10-month-old Basset Hound) do when inhaling the secondhand smoke of someone who smokes marijuana in their bedroom?
Affected mother, NJ
Photography by: © Getty Images
Is Smoking Weed Around Dogs Dangerous?
The good news is that inhaling used marijuana smoke is unlikely to result in poisoning unless an animal is in a room with extreme levels of smoke. If this were a problem, it would be difficult to walk the streets of San Francisco without getting a second hand buzz.
The bigger problem here, however, is the smoke itself. Dogs have extremely delicate lungs, and smoke can damage them. Smoking weeds around dogs (or cigarettes) around a dog on a daily basis can affect a dog’s respiratory function. On the other hand, if the person who smokes does not go overboard, does not smoke every day, and keeps a window open while smoking, it is unlikely that much harm will be done to the dog – at least from the smoke.
Dogs and marijuana – what to watch out for
Keep in mind that smoking weed around dogs can have other consequences, although I’ve never seen a dog die from marijuana poisoning. I’ve seen dogs die as a direct result of their owners being stoned. Everyone knows that drunk people often have poor judgment. Imagine a dog that I worked with a few years ago. The owner’s friend was stoned and decided to hang out with the dog on the roof of his apartment building. Unfortunately, the dog fell four floors and broke his back. The appalled owner has decided to put the dog to sleep (and, as I can imagine, drop her boyfriend).
So keep in mind that dog and marijuana situations can end badly. Everyone, please be careful. Don’t let your dogs stone. Be careful if you have smoked. And please do not smoke anything (cigarettes or weed) around your dog.
This piece was originally released in 2012.
