If you have a canine companion that suffers from osteoarthritis or anxiety you are probably already looking very hard at the benefits of using a cannabidiol based treatment to help ease their suffering, but after have cannabis and marijuana, and any products derived from the plant, completely illegal in the United States, many people are still unsure about using these substances on their beloved pet.
Really, it is completely reasonable to be wary of giving your dog pot, decades of anti-marijuana propaganda has left many people deeply concerned, however the biggest thing to know is that CBD treatments use an oil derived from the cannabis plant that has no (or so low as to be barely detectable) levels of THC.
It is the Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) component that creates the ‘high’, and once this has been removed you are left with a medical product that is able to soothe anxiety and help with joint pains, looking at this site link you will also find other uses for the compound in various formats.
CBD Or Hemp Oil?
One thing to note, as the terms often get interchanged depending on the marketing more than any scientific rationale, is that there is a slight difference between hemp and CBD oil.
There are well over 100 different cannabinoid’s that are found in any variety of Cannabis plant, with the three most widely mentioned being:
- THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) is the active cannabinoid primarily responsible for any psychoactive effect.
- CBD (Cannabidiol) has little or no psychoactive effect.
- CBN (Cannabinol) is mildly psychoactive but generally only found as a THC product that starts to age. Generally, this is only mentioned when someone has confused it with cannabidiol.
Hemp and Marijuana are both terms that can be used to describe different cannabis plants, however, generally hemp is defined as having little or no active THC, while marijuana is judged on the potency of its TCH content.
Although you can get hemp used for the production of medical-grade oils, this plant is generally more often used in the manufacture of clothing or building products. Hemp oil is usually derived from the seeds, while CBD oil is usually derived from the leaf, flower or stalk of the plant – and this really is the primary difference between the two types, so a ‘hemp oil’ that is said to be made from the leaf of the hemp plant should likely be called a ‘CBD oil’ instead.
Studies Show Better Pain Management In Osteoarthritic Dogs
Although there is no current cure that will make forms of arthritis disappear, there are a range of different treatments that can help manage the pain, however in dogs many of the medications prescribed also have other unwanted side effects including stomach upsets – which in elderly dogs is particularly unpleasant for both the dog and their owner.
This is where research looking into the use of CBD based products is changing lives (see here), as it is allowing our furry friends to regain some of their youthful vigors. Although you might think that a cream or lotion product would be used, it seems that taking this orally is the best method. Because of this is it even more important to be sure that you know exactly what dosage you should be providing and exactly what is contained in the medication. The oil may be useful in other types of pain management as well, but you need to ensure that you are treating an underlying cause not just masking a symptom.
Cautions When Purchasing & Using Alternative Medicines
However, one thing to be aware of is that although CBD oil has shown a lot of positive effects as a treatment in both humans and animals, in some cases the rumored benefits are actually caused by the THC element (such as glaucoma treatment) which may, in fact, be less effective if using CBD oil instead . Just as the root and the leaf of a carrot plant have different properties, so do the various extracts derived from cannabis and hemp.
With Penn Medical discovering that up to 70% of CBD products were mislabeled, with results showing that some products had less CBD oil that actually stated, while even more worrying they saw that some products had higher levels of THC compounds than stated, it highlights the need to purchase a consistent product from a reliable source.
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