Here’s why rising cannabis sales make it extra important this year for your veterinary clinic to educate your clients about pet poisoning prevention during National Animal Poison Prevention Week.
Each year, National Animal Poison Prevention Week (March 20th-26th) stresses the need for veterinary clinics to educate pet owners about what can poison their pets, from foods like chocolate to springtime dangers from plants, herbicides, and pesticides. And these dangers have certainly not disappeared. Yet as the cannabis industry grows, so do pet poisonings from cannabis edibles and other cannabis products left lying around by pet owners.
As an example, the ASPCA’s Animal Poison Control Center reported a 765% increase in calls about cannabis poisoning in pets from 2018-2019.
Since Then, Cannabis Sales Have Only Increased
The pandemic may have decimated airline travel, the music business, and other industries, but cannabis industry sales have skyrocketed due to people being stuck at home and cannabis businesses switching to online ordering and quick home delivery.
- While COVID-19 initially hammered cannabis retail sales, U.S. cannabis sales in June 2020 had risen 40% over the same period in 2019.
- By October 2020, cannabis retailers had returned to roughly 80% of pre-pandemic sales levels.
- New medical cannabis markets are booming in Florida, Maryland, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania, and recreational cannabis use had risen in Colorado and Washington.
Retail Cannabis Sales Are Only Projected to Grow
Given the resiliency shown by cannabis retailers, plus consumer willingness to spend money on cannabis despite economic challenges caused by COVID-19, the future of cannabis sales is only projected to grow:
- According to Grand View Research, the global cannabis market (valued at $17.7 billion U.S. in 2019) is expected to grow 1% from 2020 to 2027.
- According to New Frontier Data, the U.S. cannabis market is projected to double to $41.5 billion by 2025.
- According to Arcview Group (in tandem with BDS Analytics), the global cannabis market is expected to hit $42.7 billion by 2024.
What the Numbers Mean for Animal Poison Prevention
Cannabis market forecasters do not predict how cannabis sales may impact pet health. Yet given the data, it is not unreasonable to assume two things:
- Many cannabis consumers are pet owners.
- More cannabis making its way into more homes will lead to more pet poisonings.
This means, it’s more important than ever this year during National Animal Poison Prevention Week to educate your clients about the risks of cannabis poisoning for pets.
Save Time with Our Free Pet Cannabis Poisoning Prevention Kit
To save time educating your clients, download your free Pet Cannabis Poisoning Prevention Kit.
Available for a limited time, your free kit includes:
- An infographic with pet cannabis poisoning prevention tips for clients.
- An educational client handout—Cannabis (Marijuana) Intoxication in Cats and Dogs: Synopsis of a ClientEd handout—that you can print and hand to clients at curbside or send by email.
- Three social media images that you can post on Facebook to further educate your clients about the importance of pet cannabis poisoning prevention.
Download your free kit by filling in the from below:
