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Owning a pet is difficult, but it isn’t rocket science. As long as you keep your pet fed and watered, clean up their waste and show them the right amount of affection, you are in the clear.
However, when you enjoy cannabis as a pastime, you might need to do a bit more to keep your pets happy and healthy. If you are interested in getting a furry friend — or if you are interested in taking up weed as a new hobby — read on to learn what you can do to keep your best buds safe.
Don’t Leave out Weed Paraphernalia
Pets aren’t like kids — they aren’t going to borrow your pipe or steal from your stash if you don’t keep your weed gear locked up tight. However, pets are quite inquisitive, and they could get into your cannabis stuff when you aren’t looking. Many a bong has been broken by a careless cat, and there are countless stories of dogs chowing down on a baggie of bud. Because you don’t want either your furry friends or your paraphernalia damaged, you should keep the two completely separate.
It is best to store all your weed-related stuff in an area to which your pets do not have access, like the high shelf of a closet or a cupboard you can keep closed. When you are finished using your paraphernalia, even if you are in the midst of a choice high, you should pack everything up and get it out of your pets’ reach.
Partake of Pot Away From Your Pets
Pets aren’t going to get the wrong impression from your consistent cannabis consumption — they aren’t going to develop a weed habit or blab about your hobby to your conservative aunt. Even so, you might not want to smoke in their vicinity.
Pets can get secondhand high from your cannabis smoke, and because their bodies are so much smaller, they are much more likely to overdose on the drug. Though this won’t kill them, it will give them a horrible, potentially traumatizing experience — think: panic, hallucinations, intense nausea.
Additionally, using weed with your pets around increases the chances that they will snatch some of your stash for themselves. Just like people, when pets ingest cannabis, they get high, and just as it takes less weed smoke for a pet to overdose, only a small amount of consumed cannabis will cause bad symptoms in your four-legged friends.
If you can, you should consider using the good herb at friends’ houses, where your pets can’t see or smell what you are doing. Otherwise, you should keep your pets in a different room while you partake and clean up before they are allowed back into that space.
Keep Cannabis Cultivation Separate
If you can’t visit a dispensary in Las Vegas to buy legal bud, you might be tempted to grow your own. Yet if you have pets, you need to cultivate cannabis with care. Just as dogs and cats can get into your dried stash, they might mess with your growing pot plants. Stems and leaves don’t have enough cannabinoids to put them in danger, but your pets could seriously disrupt your crop’s growth cycle and potentially eliminate the chances of a good harvest.
If you are allowed to grow cannabis outside, you should keep your weed garden walled so no creatures can get in to wreak havoc. If your cultivation is strictly indoors-only, you might want to invest in a grow box, which will also help you maintain the right lighting and moisture for optimal growth. Alternatively, you can make a DIY grow cupboard to keep locked, so your pets won’t be able to ruin your crop.
Love Your Pets and Pot Equally
You love pot, but that shouldn’t mean you should love your pets any less. You should try to give your pets plenty of attention when you aren’t high, so they aren’t tempted to invade your space looking for love. If your pets do get into your stash, you shouldn’t punish them; they probably don’t know that they are doing something wrong, and they definitely don’t know that your drugs could cause them harm. With the right care, you can keep your pets and your weed safe and happy.