How pets are treated in the USA with therapeutically active elements of cannabis

The industry for the use of cannabis therapeutic elements in pet food, supplements and vitamins has experienced exponential growth over the past two years in North America. Accordingly, manufacturers in the USA and Canada have added a number of items to their product lines containing flowers or leaves of a hemp plant. 

Although the FDA explicitly prohibits manufacturers of hemp-based ingredients from claiming health benefits, North American consumers have traditionally used plant-based cannabinoids to treat a variety of diseases in their pets. ... With pet food, supplements and vitamins that contain therapeutically active elements of cannabis, US pet owners relieve them of back and joint pain, progressive arthritis, episodic anxiety and stress. In addition, various kinds of skin infections, gastrointestinal tract problems, initial symptoms of cancer, cramps are effectively treated, appetite is stimulated, and the general health of our pets is also improved.

In addition, it should be noted that the cost of pet food, supplements and vitamins for pets, which contain therapeutically active elements of hemp of plant origin, is much more expensive than similar products that do not contain them. In particular, the cost of goods with cannabidiol is on average higher than the price of similar products without CBD for: cookies (298%), treats for cats (550%), dry food for dogs (174%), medicines for pets (436%), supplements for pets (515%), rawhide products (301%); “Soft food” (326%).

Commentary of the specialists of the Association "Ukrainian technical hemp"

The industry for the use of cannabis therapeutic elements in pet food, supplements and vitamins has experienced exponential growth over the past two years in North America. Accordingly, manufacturers in the USA and Canada have added a number of items to their product lines containing flowers or leaves of a hemp plant. Over the past two years, the following sales channels for cannabinoid products in the pet business have been formed in the United States and Canada: Internet pet shops; veterinary offices; pet store chains; specialized CBD shops; independent pet stores. As we previously indicated in the Brief Analysis of the Problems and Prospects of the US Cannabis Market, if the legal possibility of using therapeutically active elements of the plant for their legal use in pet food, supplements and vitamins is regulated, this market in North America will multiply at once.