Vet using marijuana for pets says hopes to fund research studies

A vet in California who has used marijuana to treat dogs and other pets told Digital Journal in an exclusive interview he hopes to fund further studies on pots and pets. Dr. Doug Kramer says the drug has already proven helpful to animals.

“I recently published a book designed to teach pet owners how to make medication and safely administer it themselves,” he said in an email this week. “I’m hoping to use the book proceeds to fund small scale clinical research studies to better understand the risks and benefits of medical marijuana for pets.”

Marijuana for cats and dogs

Dr. Kramer, who has a website that focuses on alternative methods of helping animals called Vet Guru, says he’s found success using marijuana to treat both dogs and cats. His own dog, Nikita, was dying from terminal cancer and he said marijuana enabled Nikita to move around again and increase her quality of life before her death.

The L.A. vet found marijuana can successfully be used as a appetite stimulant of cats and he believes that usage could be expanded to other animals. “We’re using it on cats as much, if not more (than on dogs), as an appetite stimulant,” he said. “Cats are finicky, especially when they’re really sick. Any animal that has the cannabinoid receptors would respond the same way we do. There are studies out there that show that pigs, chickens, monkeys, and rats all have those same receptors.”