Pets and Natural Plant Based Remedies: Why Your Veterinarian Can’t Talk About It
The consistent popularity of natural plant based products as a wellness tool have led many to look at this plant-based oil to use in the medical world, including pets! And a quick search should reveal that animal friends and their furry families everywhere have plenty of amazing things to say about this natural remedy’s effectiveness, safety, and holistic qualities. But if you, like so many other pet owners, have ever asked your vet about this natural plant remedy, you may have gotten a vague or cold response without knowing why. Why, you might ask, is it so difficult to get straight advice about pet this natural products from your neighborhood vet? You should know that in most cases, your vet simply can’t.
In this article, you’ll learn exactly why talking to a veterinarian about this natural plant based remedy can be frustrating and how to change your approach to potentially get some answers.
Can Vets Talk About This Natural Remedy?
There are plenty of reasons why a veterinarian may choose not to talk to you about this plant based oil. Lack of research, risks for the vet, the Assembly Bill #2215 and simple unawareness may all play a factor. Understanding these reasons can help guide your own decision-making and conversations with your vet. So let’s dive into each.
Lack of Research
While new laws have been passed recently that will help advance this research, it’s still torturous to secure funding for large-scale studies related to this plant based remedy for medical reasons.
So it should come as no surprise that the same is true for this plat based miracle. Despite being on scientists’ radar since the 1940s, research is stuck in its infancy. Being data-driven folks in general, your vet may prefer more “established” forms of medicine, even if there is a more holistic approach would potentially work better for your pet.
Talking About This Natural Plant Based Remedy Could Be Risky for Your Vet
Even though the Farmer Bill was passed in 2018 and loosened the restrictions on these plant-derived products and it was removed from the Schedule 1 Designation ( which I think is ludicrous it was on that list in the first place). But the bill is worded in a vague way, making the true nature of the law open for interpretation. Also in 2018 California passed a bill called the Assembly Bill #2215. Making it illegal for veterinarians within the state of California to discuss this natural plant based remedy with clients or recommend and this is true for most other states.
But the tide is slowly changing (at least in California), veterinarians are now able to discuss but not recommend.
You Probably Know More About This Natural Plant Remedy Than Your Vet
It sounds shocking. But when it comes to this plant based oil, patients often know a lot more than your average medical staff. This is especially true if you’ve read through a study or two, or even blogs like this one. The risks of speaking up combined with the lack of hard, empirical data may discourage your vet from learning more, even if they would love to recommend this all natural plant oil for your furry fam.
Talking to a Veterinarian
Since talking about this plant based oil can be disastrous for your friendly neighborhood vet, going in with a light game plan couldn’t hurt. Start by asking an innocuous, open-ended question like: “Have you heard of this all natural plant based oil for pets?” or “Do you know anything about this amazing natural product to help pets?”
Use their answer to figure out what type of vet they are (open-minded, closed-minded, or unaware) and follow the strategies below.
⇒Open-minded About Natural Plant Based Oils
This is the ideal type of vet if you’re interested in an all natural plant based remedy for obvious reasons. But you should keep a few things in mind to avoid potential frustrations with your vet. Depending on your state, it still may be extremely tricky for your vet to openly recommend this amazing natural remedy without risking their license. Why is this? Maybe because it’s natural and it works?
Be sure to respect any boundaries your vet sets with their livelihood in mind. Make sure not to speak about specific brands as veterinarians can not make brand recommendations. This is trouble for your vet and veering into illegal territory, regardless of your location. Instead, speak in general concepts about the plant based oil and accept any framing device they offer to give advice. You might hear something along the lines of, “Well, I can’t officially recommend or prescribe it for your pet but I have heard…”
And no veterinarian can make a recommendation with certainty for your pet or tell you if it will help or not. The hard truth is animals’ endocannabinoid systems vary just as much as humans. And the only tried and true way to test effectiveness with your best bud is to try a safe,organic, CO2 extracted, lab tested oil and carefully observe. Safe pet plant based oil products will have a COA on their website and lab tested for: Total cannabinoids, terpenes, pesticides, herbicides, bacteria, mold, mycotoxins, yeast and heavy metals.
⇒Closed-minded About Natural Plant Based Oils
You’ve got two choices when it comes to closed-minded vets. First is the path of least resistance. Second is fighting the good fight and being an advocate for this amazing miracle.
The path of least resistance is simply finding another vet. This is most likely your best bet if you’re desperate for a medical professional’s advice specifically about natural remedies. But if you’re a fan of this remedy yourself, you shouldn’t leave the office without at least trying the second choice.
Most vets have a few basic concerns in mind when it comes to plant based oils (besides legal risks): safety, dependability, and quality evidence of success. You might try telling your vet that all this all natural plant based oil is safer than the vast majority of prescription medications. And there are plenty of studies to back this up. The other two basic concerns are a harder sell.
Because of the difficulty in funding studies, data about this natural plant based remedy is limited. And even though most studies prove positive results, they’re smaller in scale than a typical drug funded by big pharma. To a veterinarian, that calls dependability and reliability into question when considering all kinds of pets, even though this plant based oil is provably safe across the board.
A common argument against this plant based remedy is that it’s not FDA-approved. Along with the points above, you may want to mention the off-label usage of prescription medications. Off-label usage is using a medication meant for a different purpose to treat your pet. Pointing this out might gain you some traction or at least potentially change a wise vet’s opinion in the future.
If having this kind of conversation seems too stressful, no worries. Your first duty is to your furry family above all else. But try to remember you could be the catalyst that propels positive change in the veterinary community by raising these few simple points.
⇒Not Knowledgeable About Natural Plant Based Oils
For doctors unaware or not knowledgeable about natural plant medicine, you can mostly follow the advice above about closed-minded vets. And you may find less of an uphill battle here, making your influence even more important.
You might try sharing these safety studies or blogs you’ve read or showing your vet the COA. A COA is a certificate showing every compound found in a given batch of these natural plant oils. This may calm the unaware vet’s worries and open the conversation up a bit more than usual.
I Can’t Find a Vet Willing to Talk About It
This shouldn’t happen if you’re armed with the knowledge contained in this article and shop around for an open-minded vet. But just in case, here are some key details you’ll want to know about finding a high-quality plant based oil for your furbabies.
- Check for a COA. Medical professionals love these for a reason: they inspect and detail everything contained in your plant based oil pet product by a 3rd-party lab. Any respectable plant oil brand would be sure to have these in order. In short, make sure to read the COA! Make sure the COA tests for: pesticides, herbicides, total cannabinoids, terpenes, molds, mycotoxins, bacteria, and heavy metals.
- Pets in kidney failure or taking NSAID, corticosteroids, and heart medication should be mildly cautious when using plant based oils. These oils metabolizes in the liver with an enzyme called cytochrome P450 which is also used when metabolizing these medications. Most plant based oils do not have a high enough concentration to cause any issues but that being said it could interact and exacerbate prescription medication’s side effects. Always let your veterinarian know that you will be starting this plant based oil without exception here.
- Use low-oil, high-concentration pet plant oil. Extracts and tinctures use oil to deliver this plant based remedy into your furry buddy’s system, just like in human products. But unlike humans, your pet’s digestive system is extremely sensitive to these oils. Using a low-oil plant based pet oil (60mg/mL) makes it easy to increase the dose for specific medical conditions and the smaller amount of oil makes it much easier to administer. Most plant based oils have either MCT or the natural plant oil to suspend the botanical ingredient. Always choose a brand that only uses the natural plant oil rather than MCT. You are asking your pets body to metabolize two different oils and this can cause diarrhea or vomiting in pets with sensitive tummies. Its most important to keep your pet’s tummy free from distress.
- What Can We Do to Change These Policies?
Your fur babies’ veterinarians are the ones who know our pets medical history best and they should have more freedom to create the best treatment plan both with natural medicine and western pharmaceuticals.
Like me, if you agree that these restrictions limit your veterinarian’s ability to provide you with the best knowledge, and advice to care for your furry family member. Let’s make a change.
Write, call, email, and tweet your state representatives as well as the US Senate and House representatives. Ask them to change the laws and allow your veterinarian to provide important information and recommendations for safe and effective CBD products.
Final Thoughts on Veterinarians and Plant Based Oil Remedies
Phew! Plenty of info here, so let’s recap all you’ve learned.
In spite of their good intentions, veterinarians’ hands are mostly tied when it comes to advising you about this natural plant based oil. Restrictive, outdated laws from the Reefer Madness era, lack of large-scale research because of said laws, and general unawareness in general may all be to blame. But, shopping around for an open-minded vet and coming prepared with some basic knowledge can make a huge difference for you, your pet, and the plant based natural remedy-loving community at large.