With more states moving to legalize either medicinal marijuana, or marijuana for recreational use, House Rabbit Society cautions our members to keep marijuana out of reach of their rabbits.
So far, there is no evidence on marijuana toxicity in rabbits, so we don’t know whether rabbits could be negatively impacted by either eating the plant or being exposed to marijuana smoke. But according to A Guide to Plant Poisoning of Animals in North America, a number of animals have been negatively impacted by eating marijuana, including horses, dogs and pigs. And according to the Pet Poison Hotline, dogs and cats can be intoxicated both by exposure to smoke and by eating marijuana.
So it is most likely a good idea to keep marijuana away from rabbits as well!
In terms of giving marijuana to your rabbit for health purposes, first, we always caution that if a rabbit has a medical condition, they must see a veterinarian with experience in treating rabbits. Beyond that, House Rabbit Society’s health director, Anthony Pilny, DVM, of the Center for Avian and Exotic Medicine, had this to say:
Marijuana is not labelled for use in rabbits. We know that marijuana helps people forget and deal with pain better, but marijuana has not been tested in rabbits and it may cause any number of problems, not the least of which are inappetance and ileus, respiratory problems and general malaise. I am also unsure of the effect of cannabis on immune function. There is no scientific proof or data that marijuana even has analgesic properties in rabbits. There are MUCH better known modalities for rabbits–which is why your veterinarian should determine any treatments your rabbits receive. Giving marijuana to rabbits could also be considered cruel, as we have no idea how they might respond to the drug, or whether it might make them high.
