New Zealand Clinical Trial Recruiting Dogs For Cannabis Research
More countries are now home to medical cannabis legalization, to some degree, than countries that still prohibit medical cannabis. Laws in legal medical cannabis countries range from being very limited to permitting robust commerce and home cultivation options for suffering patients.
An emerging area of medical cannabis policy, regulation, and research goes beyond humans and extends to medical cannabis therapies for pets and other animals. A recent example of this can be found in New Zealand, where researchers are recruiting dogs for a clinical trial examining medical cannabis and its potential to treat pain.
“More than 100 dogs are being recruited for a world-first cannabis clinical trial to help canines suffering from osteoarthritis.” reported The New Zealand Herald in its local coverage. “A New Zealand veterinary pharmaceutical company behind the “groundbreaking” medicine is seeking dogs across Waikato, Bay of Plenty and Christchurch for the six-week experiment.”
Medical cannabis for animals is an underrated sector of the emerging legal cannabis industry and possesses tremendous profit potential for innovative entrepreneurs and savvy cannabis industry investors.
Industry analysts at Research and Markets recently projected that the CBD pet market size alone is expected to reach $1.72 billion by 2030 and increase at a compound annual growth rate of 32.47% between now and then. This, of course, does not take into account other cannabinoids and non-pet animals like farm livestock.
Researchers estimate that there are over 900 million pet dogs globally, and another 370 million pet cats. In the United States alone, pet owners spend an estimated $136 billion on pet products annually. Add to the mix tens of billions of cattle, sheep, goats, chickens, pigs, and other livestock around the world, and the potential market for medical cannabis wellness products for animals is off the charts.
In separate dog and medical cannabis research news, the results of a study focusing on medical cannabis therapies and dogs with osteoarthritis and conducted by the Federal University for Latin American Integration in partnership with the Santa Cannabis Association, will reportedly be featured in the scientific journal Frontiers in Pharmacology soon.
“The research showed that the plant extract relieves pain, improves mobility and the quality of life of animals — and most importantly, without serious side effects.” reported Sechat about the research effort (translated from Portuguese to English).