Special Report: CBD infused pet treats could improve pet health
It’s a recipe for dog treats that starts out like many others – peanut butter, coconut flower, oatmeal, a banana and one ingredient dog lover Melissa Osborne adds that makes them a little more interesting – CBD oil.
Osborne started her CBD or cannabidiol oil based business called “Me and Joe’s Animal Cookies” about a month ago and has already seen quite a bit of interest, with several people buying cookies to calm down their dogs on Fourth of July.
But still – there are some hurdles.
“In talking to people who bought treats from me, who said they really liked my product and that they would be back – they were afraid to talk about it on the news themselves because of their jobs. So I think the stigma is the big thing – you know the “Cheech and Chong” stigma.You know it’s not anything like that,” Osborne said.
While he is not the Joe in the “Me and Joe’s” cookies, that stigma is something Lompoc Valley Cannabis Coalition Founder Joe A. Garcia would like to get rid of.
“I’d say the biggest misconception regarding cbd is that it’s non-psychoactive. So if you were to consume CBD, it would not give you an altered state or a feeling of being high. It on the contrary would relax you and make anxiety go away. It’s also very good for pain,” Garcia said.
It’s so effective for pain and anxiety, California veterinarians are moving towards being able to prescribe CBD for pets.
“It still is a schedule one drug but it shouldn’t be really, it’s a medical marvel,” said Veterinarian Dr. Brian Hunt of St. Francis Animal Hospital.
Dr. Hunt says it would be hard to have pets overdose on medicinal marijuana treats.
“These biscuits that they feed dogs usually only contain one milligram – some contain up to five mgs of the CBD oil and that is really a low dose when you consider the toxic dose is three thousand milligrams per 2.2 pounds.”
That’s good news for people like Osborne, who’d like more people to see the benefits of using CBD.
“People should educate themselves because the major thing is there’s no psychoactive effects,” Osborne said.
