I seem to be the Internet’s go-to guy when it comes to questions about pets and marijuana — like “Is smoking weed around dogs dangerous?”
It started when I wrote a few blog posts about what to do if your dog breaks into a stash of marijuana. At around the same time, I also composed a comprehensive website with 100 articles on dog and cat diseases, syndromes and treatments. One of the covered items was marijuana intoxication. The article on marijuana really got noticed.
Newspapers (including SF Weekly) and a bunch of pro-cannabis websites, have quoted me–always without permission, always without making any effort to contact me and sometimes out of context. I talk about canine marijuana intoxication in a straightforward and nonjudgemental way; this has unfortunately led some folks to the misconception that I endorse getting dogs stoned. For the record: I definitely do not.
Photography by Irina Kozorog/Shutterstock.
Because of this “fame,” I receive a stream of questions about dogs (and other animals) and marijuana. Many of them are ridiculous to the point of absurdity. But not every question I receive is absurd. Consider the following one, which asks if smoking weed around dogs is dangerous:
I read Dr. Barchas’ posting about dogs ingesting marijuana by eating it, but what are the effects of a dog (in this case a 10-month, 50-pound Basset Hound) inhaling the secondhand smoke from someone who smokes marijuana in his bedroom?
Concerned Mom, NJ
Photography by: ©Getty Images
The good news is that, unless an animal is confined in a room with extreme amounts of smoke, inhaling secondhand marijuana smoke is not likely to lead to intoxication. If this were a concern, it would be hard to walk the streets of San Francisco without catching a secondhand buzz.
However, the bigger concern here is the smoke itself. Dogs have exquisitely sensitive lungs, and smoke can damage them. Smoking weed around dogs (or cigarettes) around a dog every day, can compromise a dog’s respiratory function. On the other hand, if the person doing the smoking does not go overboard, doesn’t smoke every day and keeps a window open while smoking, it is not likely that much harm will come to the dog — from the smoke at least.
Bear in mind that although I’ve never seen a dog die from marijuana intoxication, smoking weed around dogs can have other consequences. I have seen dogs die as a direct result of their owners getting stoned. Everyone knows that intoxicated people frequently exercise poor judgment. Consider a dog I worked with several years ago. The owner’s boyfriend got stoned and decided to hang out on his apartment building’s roof with the dog. The dog sadly fell four stories and broke his back. The horrified owner elected to euthanize the dog (and, I imagine, dump her boyfriend).
So, remember that situations involving dogs and marijuana can end poorly. Everyone, please be careful. Don’t get your dogs stoned. Be cautious if and when you have been smoking. And please don’t smoke anything (cigarettes or weed) around your dog.
This piece was originally published in 2012.
43 comments on “Is Smoking Weed Around Dogs Dangerous?”
I live in Colorado. My veterinarians’ office posted a sign, “Keep the pot away from Spot!” I asked them whether they were seeing more marijuana-intoxicated dogs after pot was legalized here (as a way of trying to gauge whether legalization increased pot use). They said, “Nah. The only difference is that the owners now own up to what happened, instead of feigning total ignorance about why their dogs are acting weird.”
My mom and her boyfriend smoke weed in her bedroom at least once or twice a week with my 1 year old, 20 lbs, miniature Schnauzer. She doesn’t know that I know she does that. She doesnt leave a window open or anything. I’m afraid she’ll get mad or something if i bring it up.
Smoking “weed” is dangerous period.
lol, yeah so many ppl have died, or fallen ill, or got dumber from all the neurons dying from it… it’s definitely NOT dangerous, if anything, it is quite the opposite.
Now you must be dumb. Marijuana is not dangerous to people. You are speaking like a true democratic brain washed fool. You are listening to the media and these old people in office. The same people who chose to separate church and state. You should really read your Bible. Genesis 1:29
And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. I can qoute many parts of the Bible which talk about this. We have man made drugs that kill people, get people addicted and you’re worried about marijuana being bad. What ignorance.
I believe the article is trying to help And educate people to understand the risk And yes weed can hurt people and dogs!
I know first hand it can!
Marijuana is not what hurts people it is the people themselves. Many successful people smoke marijuana. It’s about the individual case closed Charlotte.
It’s not the weed’s fault. If taken in moderation, it is extremely therapeutic.
WEED doesn’t hurt people, it’s the poor decision making or ignorance to smoke skunk weed or smoke too much.
WHAT DOES DEMOCRATIC HAVE TO DO
WITH THIS CONVERSATION?
Your truly a saint jason
No it’s not, you sound dumb
LOL – no it’s not. Alcohol and opiates (including doctor prescribed) are dangerous. Propaganda is a real thing.
Why are we ignoring that some crazy man put a dog on a roof… I’ve hung out with a lot of stoners and have never met any that stupid. That guy needs help!
yeah, pretty sure that wasn’t the weed
100%, there’s no question. Cannabis simply exaggerates various aspects of one’s own personality. That guy sounds genuinely stupid.
I just want to say, thank you for
Your authenticity.
Hi, I was just wondering if there are any studies out there speaking about smoke specifically being harmful. I don’t agree with people smoking *anything* around an animal, just like it’s wrong to smoke around children or people that don’t want it around them, but I would be interested in reading any related studies. Thank you.
I would be interested as well!
Great article discussing a very important issue.
I think the question might be ambiguous. It could be “can marijuana affect dogs?” and
“should I smoke around my dog(s)?”
I wanna see the roof top that someone deemed safe for a dog :-/
Agreed