Front Vet Sci. 2018; 5: 165.

Published online 2018 Jul 23. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2018.00165

PMCID: PMC6065210

PMID: 30083539

Pharmacokinetics, Safety, and Clinical Efficacy of Cannabidiol Treatment in Osteoarthritic Dogs

Lauri-Jo Gamble,¹ Jordyn M. Boesch,¹ Christopher W. Frye,¹ Wayne S. Schwark,² Sabine Mann,³ Lisa Wolfe,⁴ Holly Brown,⁵ Erin S. Berthelsen,¹ and Joseph J. Wakshlag^1,*

Author information Article notes Copyright and License information Disclaimer

¹Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United States

²Department of Molecular Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United States

³Department of Population Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United States

⁴Proteomic and Metabolomic Facility, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, United States

⁵Metzger Animal Hospital, State College, PA, United States

Edited by: Troy N. Trumble, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, United States

Reviewed by: Gareth Edward Zeiler, University of Pretoria, South Africa; Joao Henrique Neves Soares, Virginia Tech, United States

*Correspondence: Joseph J. Wakshlag ude.llenroc@73wj

This article was submitted to Veterinary Surgery and Anesthesiology, a section of the journal Frontiers in Veterinary Science

This article has been cited by other articles in PMC.

Objectives: The objectives of this study were to determine basic oral pharmacokinetics, and assess safety and analgesic efficacy of a cannabidiol (CBD) based oil in dogs with osteoarthritis (OA).

Methods: Single-dose pharmacokinetics was performed using two different doses of CBD enriched (2 and 8 mg/kg) oil. Thereafter, a randomized placebo-controlled, veterinarian, and owner blinded, cross-over study was conducted. Dogs received each of two treatments: CBD oil (2 mg/kg) or placebo oil every 12 h. Each treatment lasted for 4 weeks with a 2-week washout period. Baseline veterinary assessment and owner questionnaires were completed before initiating each treatment and at weeks 2 and 4. Hematology, serum chemistry and physical examinations were performed at each visit. A mixed model analysis, analyzing the change from enrollment baseline for all other time points was utilized for all variables of interest, with a p ≤ 0.05 defined as significant.

Results: Pharmacokinetics revealed an elimination half-life of 4.2 h at both doses and no observable side effects. Clinically, canine brief pain inventory and Hudson activity scores showed a significant decrease in pain and increase in activity (p < 0.01) with CBD oil. Veterinary assessment showed decreased pain during CBD treatment (p < 0.02). No side effects were reported by owners, however, serum chemistry showed an increase in alkaline phosphatase during CBD treatment (p < 0.01).

Clinical significance: This pharmacokinetic and clinical study suggests that 2 mg/kg of CBD twice daily can help increase comfort and activity in dogs with OA.


^{The above study is just one example how CPAT-01 for which AC8 is seeking approval with FDA CVM , is going to be a game changer.}