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Bioavailability of eating raw marijuana?

S

Spiffypip

Greenlighter
Joined
Jul 27, 2013
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Does anyone know the specifics of how much active ingredient gets absorbed from eating uncooked/processed weed? Kind of a weird question but my cat has been chewing on one of my plants and I'm curious if it is enough to actually have an effect. I have heard of people doing this to some small effect but do carnivore stomachs presses such things?
 
Conversion of THCacetate to THC is quite incomplete here (just light exposure, only relevant to slightly dried out leaves, I'd wager), and absorption is poor and unreliable. And is he/she just eating leaves or also buds? Seems like he/she'd be okay. . .

ebola
 
The cat's stomach is surprisingly similar to yours in this respect. Neither humans nor cats nor any other mammal produces cellulase, the enzyme required to digest wood. Therefore leaf-eating animals must digest food with the help of bacteria, usually in a part of the digestive tract which is used exclusively for fermentation. The reason for this is that cellulase is a complex enzyme and it is "cheaper" to let bacteria do the hard work.

Anywho, the bioavailability of raw marijuana is usually stated as low, but it really depends on how active the enzymes that decarboxylate THC-acid are. In cats, I'm not really sure about this. I ate almost a gram of raw weed once and barely got high, though i had quite a tolerance.

On the plus side, cannabis is as nontoxic as it comes, so your cat should be fine. Be careful in the future -- many things that are not toxic to humans (such as onions) are toxic to cats.
 
If I'm not mistaken cannabis is significantly toxic in cats. I think it damages their kidneys. This was from an old study, I remember, but not very well. I'll see if I can find it again, because I think I might have read it in an old pharmacology book when I was supposed to be working at the library in college.
 
According to Clarke's, cannabis/THC is absorbed from the GI tract "slowly and irregularly", and has a BA of 6-20%, compared to 20-50% smoked.

It depends a lot on whether or not the cannabis has been decarboxylated and whether or not it is suspended in oil or alcohol - both will drastically increase the absorbtion of THC.

I don't think raw, non-decarboxylated cannabis leaf material is toxic to cats. Essentially every mammal can tolerate THC to some extent, even if it knocks them out. It's unlikely to have a strong pharmacological effect at low levels, though.

The roots of cannabis do contain alkaloids and the like that are probably best avoided, but I have yet to see a root-eating cat.
 
hammy said:
If I'm not mistaken cannabis is significantly toxic in cats. I think it damages their kidneys. This was from an old study, I remember, but not very well. I'll see if I can find it again, because I think I might have read it in an old pharmacology book when I was supposed to be working at the library in college.
Click to expand...

I thought it also suspected that cannabis is uniquely toxic to dogs, as some cannabinoid that is ineffective in humans induces vertigo in canines (FastandBulbous 2009 ;)).

ebola
 
Eating raw marijuana will hurt your stomach. Regardless of the buzz you get, prepare for stomach cramps and shit that smells like weed.

Sekio: I'm interested in the alkaloids in cannabis root that you mention. Could you identify them for me and explain the danger? Thank you.
 
I'm only mentioning it as a side note; the components in cannabis root are of no pharmacological importance to those who consume the flower. Cannabisativine is one. I don't think the pharmacology has been studied at all.
 
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