“A senior Staffordshire Terrier had a 6cm mammary tumor and metastasis that disappeared in 3 months and didn’t come back …”
“A Jack Russell Terrier had a severe heart murmur and painful arthritis and, after a month, he wanted to go for long walks and his murmur was much improved …”
These are two examples of how Australian veterinarian Edward Bassingthwaighte discovered how CBD oil could be a critical part of his holistic veterinary practice. “I simply can’t explain the improved heart murmur” says Bassingthwaite. “They normally don’t get better.”
The above are quotes taken from a Dogs Naturally Magazine article on the growing holistic veterinary interest in the use of CBD based remedies. Go to link at the end of this article to read the entire article.
Have we all lost our minds at The Critters? Don’t we know that hemp is highly addictive and very dangerous for animals? What are we thinking, promoting hemp and cannabis based products in our store? Why do we want to get animals high? These are just a few of the potential questions in response to this post.
So let us try to answer a few of the questions before the emails start rolling in. The answer to the first question is, of course, no, we have not lost our minds, at least as far as we are concerned. If you are a customer or have followed the store over the last 20 years you know that we are all about promoting the highest level of health and nutrition that we can. You would also know that we do our homework on everything we sell in the store and hold our manufacturers to a high standard when it comes to ingredients and processing. And the same standard applies to the hemp based products that we are now recommending and selling in the store.
Hemp, a strain of cannabis, is not marijuana which is an entirely different strain of cannabis. They have many things in common but they have one major difference. Hemp is not psycho-active, i.e. it contains no mind or awareness altering substances. Marijuana, on the other hand has substantially higher levels of a compound called THC(for short) that is a psycho-active compound when ingested in high enough concentrations. The concentration of THC in hemp is less than .3 percent by volume or less than 3/10ths of one percent, while marijuana typically contains 10% or more. The concentration of THC in hemp is incapable of producing a psycho-active response. The drug stigma associated with marijuana has been inappropriately attached to hemp, primarily in this country, for economic and political reasons but not for scientific reasons. When this country was born hemp was a staple crop raised by most of the founding fathers and used for everything from rope to clothes to paper to medications. Today, finally, hemp and hemp products are considered by the FDA as food based and approved for sale in all fifty states. All of these facts can be verified with 5 minutes of research online or in the library. So if these few points don’t dispel any remaining belief that hemp is a dangerous drug please verify the facts for yourself.
As for its appropriateness for humans or animals as a medicinal plant, there is a rapidly growing body of scientific research documenting the health benefits of the compounds found in the hemp plant. There is also a history of its use as a healing plant that goes back thousands of years in countries like India and other parts of Asia. In this country and others, it is as if we are just waking up once again to the healing properties of this medicinal herb. It is not new, it is just that we are reemerging from under decades of inaccurate misinformation and belief systems built upon that misinformation. Some of the many compounds found in hemp are cannabinoids(CBD). Cannabinoids are found in many plants but are in high concentrations in hemp and cannabis. And whether you or your pet have ingested hemp or not, you still have cannabinoid receptors throughout your body called the endocannabinoid system. This system of receptors is located in the brain, central and peripheral nervous system, essentially everywhere. This system is instrumental in regulating things like appetite, memory, pain management, immune response, nausea and on and on. You may be beginning to see the fit here. We and our mammal pets, have cannabinoid receptors as part of the endocannabinoid system in our bodies. The hemp plant is rich in over 80 cannabinoid compounds along with others that bind to and stimulate these receptors. Sounds like a match made in heaven, literally. When we ingest these cannabinoid rich compounds it is the cannabinoid receptors that are directly influenced. When these receptors are stimulated and nourished they perform their regulator functions in the body more effectively resulting in numerous benefits to our health.
I know what you are thinking, this is an over simplification and far from a scientific explanation of how the cannabinoids work or the endocannabinoid system. You are absolutely right and in fact it is not intended to be anything more than that. Our job is not to convince you to try or do anything that you do not feel is right for you or your pets. Our job is to share what we have learned with our customers and make products available that we feel can benefit the health and well being of their pets. If there is one thing we have learned over the years it is this, we as humans are more likely to try something new and stick with it if we have investigated it ourselves and are convinced that it is the right thing for us. Our hope is that you will find this layman’s understanding of the benefits of hemp supplementation interesting enough to check it for yourself. Do some research on the benefits of CBD’s in treating seizures, pain management, insomnia, inflammation, anxiety, or cancer. By doing so you will come to know whether it is right or useful for you and you will feel confident in your decision.
If you decide to try CBD products to treat a specific ailment or to simply support the overall immune functioning, there are a couple more points to consider. There has been an explosion in this market in the last few years, so buyer Be Ware, not all CBD products are the same or of equal quality. Prior to legislation passed in 2014, most the hemp that was being used for CBD production was industrial hemp from Europe or Canada because we had not been growing it in this country. While the industrial hemp used for rope, clothing, paper, etc. does contain cannabinoids, it has been bred mainly for it’s fiber content not its medicinal properties. It is now possible to grow and breed domestic hemp specifically for its medicinal benefits. As with all supplements, quality is the key to effectiveness and full spectrum, medicinal hemp, bred for that purpose does produce superior results. We strongly suggest that you look for organic, free of herbicides and pesticides. We have also found and recent studies support the fact that whole plant products are more effective due to the entourage or synergistic effect of all the compounds found in the hemp plant. The pharmaceutical industry has become very good at isolating specific compounds and extracting them for use in supplements. However, when it comes to cannabinoids, there are many different ones that work in concert with other compounds in the plant like terpenes to produce the most nourishing results.
The ever growing body of CBD oriented research includes its use with domestic animals. These studies have demonstrated effectiveness with pain particularly with neuropathy associated with cancer, diabetes, arthritis and other neurodegenerative diseases. It has been used to diminish seizures in children and animals and has been seen to reduce tumors and anxiety in animals. It has also been shown to create greater comfort in geriatric animals by reducing pain and inflammation. At The Critters & Me we offer several hemp based products from hemp infused honey and supplements for animals and humans to dog treats and foods. We are evolving with the industry and continue to research the market to find the highest quality and most effective products that we can and to expand our lines to meet the needs of our customers. For us this is an exciting rediscovery of an ancient healing plant with widespread application for the health and wellbeing of our animals as well as ourselves. If you are interested in learning more we encourage you to do some research and stop by at any time to ask us questions or examine our products. We are always happy to share what we are learning and help in any way we can.
Some of the lines that we currently carry include:
- Canna Companion – Full spectrum supplements specifically developed and dosed for dogs and cats based on 20 years of research and development.
- CBDrx – Full spectrum cannabinoid infused coconut oil capsules for human and animal use.
- Reilly’s Hemp Vet – Full spectrum supplements in the treat form targeting calming, hip and joint pain, and general immune support.
- True Hemp – Grain Free chews also supporting, calming, hip and joint pain and general immune support.
Check out this article that we posted previously on 8/8/17. We will also be adding articles and research to this post as we come across them.
“Understanding Hemp for Pets!”
http://www.crittersandme.com/understanding-hemp-pets/
Another article from Dogs Naturally Magazine on CBD canine use:
http://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/cbd-oil-for-dogs/
Link to article concerning funding by the AKC of canine cannabis research:
More Articles:
https://veterinarypracticenews.com/uc-davis-launches-survey-use-cannabis-products-pets/?en_click=1&utm_campaign=editorial&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_content=feature
http://www.rxleaf.com/how-cannabis-treats-neuropathic-pain/
http://www.petproductnews.com/December-2017/The-CBD-Solution/