The legalization of marijuana seems to be one of the main discussions that people have with one another. In some cases people are not only trying to legalize the use of marijuana for themselves, but also for their pets.

Marijuana has beneficial effects on people with chronic illnesses, but also has a similar effect on animals. Some people may be skeptical with giving their pet the drug, sometimes you have no choice but to try something new in order to help them through the pain they may have.

The drug has been used in various cases ranging from arthritis to bone cancer. In one case, a 12 year old cat was suffering from arthritis. She isolated herself from the other cats, and would not come out and play. Her owner went to a meeting with Women Grow and discussed the idea of using marijuana to help her ailing pet. After deciding to go through with the idea, the owner got a medical marijuana card and bought the cat two edible oils in which she squirts into her mouth. Now her pet comes out to play with the other cats in the home, and acts like her old self. The owner states, "when I've given it to her, she's never acted high: falling face-first into her food bowl, chowing down. She comes out and socializes, wants to be in your lap, wants to be petted. It's a very noticeable difference."

There are cannabis-based products for animals to help alleviate certain things such as seizures, inflammation, anxiety, and pain. These marijuana-based treatments have not been approved by regulators, but it still is being used for cats, dogs, pigs, horses, and other wild domesticated animals.

Although the effects of the marijuana on animals seems to be helping in different cases, some veterinarians are not prohibited to prescribe the drug. One woman from Springfield, Vt. has to drive to Hanover, N.H. where medical marijuana is permitted, in order for her Rottweiler to be prescribed the drug for her seizures and anxiety. In this case, the Rottweiler receives a product called Canna-Pet. With only eight months of treatment, there has been a decrease in the dog's seizures and when she does have them they are not as severe as they were before.

Before you just throw your pet some pot, there are a few things you should know first. You can not just give them the marijuana you or I would smoke, or even the edibles we would eat. You must give them hemp-based products. Here's the thing, marijuana contains THC and CBD. THC is what makes people feel high, but it can be very toxic to animals; especially dogs. CBD does not give the buzz that you would get with THC, and it still offers the benefits as mentioned earlier.

Maybe it is time we start legalizing marijuana for not only ourselves, but for our beloved pets. We can help them through the chronic illnesses they live with just by giving them cannabis-based products. So lets make it so that veterinarians can prescribe this drug to the animals, where every other drug or pain killer may not have been enough.