March 19, 2015
The Los Angeles Times reports that a Nevada state senator introduced a bill Tuesday that would legalize medical marijuana for pets under the supervision of a veterinarian. Coming from the desk of the bill's sponsor, Democrat Sen. Tick Segerblom, the bill would require the pet to have a certified illness.
The pet would need to get its own license, as it would not allow owners to administer their own pot to their dog or cat. Nevada is one of 23 states where medical marijuana is legal.
The Times spoke to Segerblom, who explained the reasoning behind the bill, which includes a number of things besides the pot provision:
“People these days believe that marijuana can cure everything under the sun, from the inability to eat if you’re terminally ill to problems with your nervous system. So if your dog has a nerve disease or uncontrollable tremors, this might be able to help it.”
“I’ve never even heard of this. Are there vets out there who would even know if this works on animals? There are lots of questions.”
“Nikita was wasting away, and she’d stopped eating,” he recalled. “I’d exhausted every available pharmaceutical pain option, even steroids. At that point, it was a quality of life issue, and I felt like I’d try anything to ease her suffering.” Dr. Kramer began feeding Nikita a small amount of marijuana. The dog’s appetite returned, and she appeared more comfortable during her final months.
