When a client brings their pet in for a potential cannabis exposure, they may hesitate to be honestdue to fear of legal repercussions, embarrassment, or other concerns. However, because cannabis exposure can be dangerous—and the type of product involved affects treatment—it’s essential to gather complete information as soon as possible. But how do veterinary teams encourage full disclosure?

In this dvm360 interview, Renee Schmid, DVM, DABT, DABVT—senior toxicologist and director of veterinary medicine at Pet Poison Helpline—explains how a judgment‑free approach helps clients share the necessary details for effective treatment. She also offers additional strategies to improve patient outcomes.

Below is a partial transcript, edited lightly for clarity

Renee Schmid, DVM, DABT, DABVT: So educating pet parents is really important for them to understand that we’re here to help treat their pets. We want, we don’t want their pet to suffer because they’re afraid to admit that their pet got into some type of a cannabis product. It’s really important for that pet to be able to be treated for what it is they got into. So for that veterinarian to be able to know that animal, it does have a cannabis exposure, and we need to treat it that way, as opposed to just kind of treating unknowingly what it is that they make it into, especially with the different types of cannabis products that are out there. There’s different types of THC products with different concentrations. There’s synthetic cannabinoids, which cause other issues as well, and other different products, and even CBD products that could potentially be problematic.

And so really, just educating that those pet parents on it’s okay, we’re here to help, and we’re not going to be judgmental in these cases. We just want to know what it is that your pet got into so that we can make the right choices, one to help minimize the stress for the patient, help to increase the likelihood and the recovery of that patient, and also help to ease some of the financial expenses that come along with that as well, if we’re doing a lot of treatments that aren’t going to be necessary and sometimes, you know, if they get into chocolate in cannabis, chocolate is a stimulant, and cannabis is more of a depressant, and so it may be difficult for that pet parent to see this, to see the signs they might be very subtle in that patient.