Meet Little Mate: he's an an old Jack Russell with arthritis and heart failure issues.
Over the years, Little Mate’s owners, King and Maureen, have tried a range of treatments to ease their beloved pet’s suffering, but nothing seems to work as well as marijuana.
“A really unexpected thing was that his heart murmur improved (after starting marijuana treatment) which is something I had not seen before in 20 years of practice,” observed Dr Edward Bassingthwaite, the vet who recommended marijuana for Little Mate.
What Dr Bassingthwaite recommends isn’t the same stuff that powers drum circles on beaches across Australia.
King and Maureen with 'Little Mate' Source: SBS
“You absolutely should not give your pet marijuana that you’ve bought for your personal use," he says.
In his experience, medical marijuana for dogs “doesn't have a strong psychoactive effect but it can have a slight sedative effect.”
"You absolutely should not give your pet marijuana that you’ve bought for your personal use..."
The effects of the substance on Little Mate aren't as obvious as one might think, according to King.
“You wouldn't know if he's had it or not. We can tell … by the look on his face when you go get the bottle out of the fridge.”
The cannabis plant contains dozens of components known as cannabinoids. Among them is THC (tetrahydrocannabimol) and CBD (cannabidiol).
Both reportedly have therapeutic effects. THC makes people feel high and can be toxic to animals if given in large doses. CBD, on the other hand, has little to no toxicity.
Vets in Australia can prescribe CBD to use on animals, but the process is tedious. They have to get permission from one government agency to prescribe it and then permission from another government agency to import it.
“I haven’t tried doing it, it just seems impossible, it’s so difficult,” says Dr Bassingthwaite.
When it comes to what might be causing the regulatory bottleneck, he suggests “a money grab by big companies.”
Not content to send concerned pet owners down a long and winding road in pursuit of legally acquired CBD, Dr Bassingthwaite works within a legal grey area.
Little Mate being administered THC in oil form. Source: SBS
He suggested King and Maureen explore the black market, an interesting option given neither of them have never used marijuana themselves.
“I suppose we were a bit apprehensive about what to do - because it is illegal - and who to ask but in the end it was (Little Mate’s) life against what was likely to happen to us.
“Cannabis ... it's never been in our world. Yeah no, no. Wrong generation to have cannabis in our world.
“It took us about two months before we picked up courage to go over to Nimbin.”
After doing their own research, King and Maureen decided to go for cold-pressed THC. That is, THC in oil form, even though it is illegal in Australia.
"For as long as he's alive we'll continue to supply him with the medical marijuana... "
If they give Little Mate too much THC oil, it could be lethal, so they’re very careful about how much and how often they drip the oil onto his tongue.
But not everyone is convinced medical marijuana for pets is a safe treatment option. Small Animal Internal Medicine specialist Dr Philip Brain thinks to draw any conclusions at this stage would be “premature”.
“Currently the evidence is all anecdotal and that is fraught with danger," he says.
"To recommend a drug where that testing hasn't been done, I think, is not responsible.”
Aside from the potential side effects of using marijuana, obtaining it could have consequences.
When it comes to the threat of being caught by the police, Maureen says it's not something they're overly concerned about.
"Oh no, it doesn’t stop us. For as long as he's alive we'll continue to supply him with the medical marijuana.
“It's wrong that it should be made illegal like it is and that we should have to worry about driving along the strip with our supplies – although they don't seem to think that two oldies like us would be picked up, but you never know.”
