Martha Stewart has signed on to advise Canopy Growth, the big Canadian cannabis company —which shouldn’t surprise anyone who has seen her shuck and jive with Snoop Dogg on the VH1 cooking show, “Martha & Snoop’s Potluck Dinner Party.”

Reporting on this new partnership in the NY Times March 2, Laura Holson wrote

“… The cannabis plant contains dozens of cannabinoids, among them THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) and CBD (cannabidiol). THC has the psychoactive properties that make people feel high but are toxic to animals. CBD, on the other hand, offers the benefits without the buzz. Industrial hemp, used to make textiles and paper, is also used in pet products because its THC levels are negligible.”

As if “toxic” were a synonym for “psychoactive.”

Martha was quoted: “I’m especially looking forward to our first collaboration together, which will offer sensible products for people’s beloved pets.” We infer that “sensible” is the Canopy marketers’ synonym for “CBD.”

Veterinarian Robert Silver comments,

“The use of the word ‘toxic’ is inappropriate to use in the context of dog or cat or horse reactions to that particular photochemical. Dogs are especially sensitive to THC due to having the highest concentration of CB1 receptors in their cerebellum and hind brain. That may be why a few dogs have died from eating human edibles. BUT, most likely the toxic principle in the edibles is the chocolate, or the raisins or the xylitol or macadamia nuts. Chocolate has a stimulatory effect on the myocardium as does THC, due to CB2 receptors on the myocardium in the dog.

“CBD can be very effective in pets, even if it has the THC removed, I’ve had the opportunity to develop a product for veterinary use that is 0.0% THC and broad spectrum in composition, as compared to isolate CBD, and after distributing 100,000 bottles to veterinarians over the past 3.5 years have learned that THC is not a necessary component for successful clinical outcomes, except for a few conditions.”

And Gary Gray, RPh,  provides some relevant background
“Dogs were used to test by manufs when their tinctures were finished. Simply dog fell asleep – batch done. No dog ever died from their tinctures.”