In its bid to reduce the pain of animals like dogs and horses, a top veterinarian of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) has presented the country’s first clinical paper on the use of medical cannabis on canines to record the efficacy of the organic drug in alleviating the suffering from inflammation.

“It was a clinical use of medical cannabis on dogs belonging to private parents. This clinical paper, first time in India, is purely a social service initiative without any monetary angle.

But this paper will have wide ranging ramifications in scientific research as it is the first recorded veterinary study in the country. Many animals will have long term pain relief with the least deleterious effects,” Deputy Inspector General (Veterinary) Dr Sudhakar Natarajan told The Pioneer.

The production of the full spectrum cannabis extract or pharmaconeutroherbaceutical is being done in India under the approval of Ayush and is being successfully used in humans but the clinical trial of the medical cannabis is a first for animals. 

Medical cannabis acts as a painkiller to alleviate various kinds of pain due to inflammatory conditions without many side effects, as against the inorganic drugs that will have deleterious effects on vital organs due to long-term use, Dr. Natarajan said in his clinical paper.

The pioneering clinical study was conducted between January 2021 and May, 2022 on four canines, one male and three females, suffering from a range of inflammatory conditions causing pain and making normal mobility impossible.

All the dogs were Labrador variety between six and eight years of age and all weighing about 30 Kg each. They were suffering from mobility issues with severe pain due to advanced osteoarthritis, hip dysplasia and some early onset of geriatric condition, he said.

Full-spectrum cannabis extract was obtained under veterinary prescription from a Noida-based firm Noigra.

Following administration of eight drops of the cannabis extract for a week resulted in significant improvement and the dogs were able to walk without pain.

 They were even able to defecate and urinate without pain. Further, they started behaving normally with improved appetite and enhanced quality of life, underscored the study.

After 30 days of administration of the extract, a blood test was done on them which showed no elevation of liver enzymes, leading to the conclusion that this was an effective long-term strategy to maintain the canines pain-free, reduce inflammation with overall improved quality of life, added the study.