Cannabis cookies for canines

A Tasmanian farmer has been licensed to manufacture and sell dog biscuits containing cannabis seed.

ANNE FAWCETT
A Tasmanian farmer has been licensed to manufacture and sell dog biscuits containing cannabis seed.

            Hemp Hound Hors d’oeuvres are the brainchild of Flinders Island cape barren geese farmer and part-time paramedic Ian Rochfort, who made headlines six years ago when he obtained state government permission  to feed his flock indian hemp (Cannabis sativa).

            Rochfort made the radical decision to switch from commercial poultry feed to hemp seed when international buyers raised concerns that commercial feeds may contain animal products capable of transmitting bovine spongiform encephalopathy.

            After learning that the Tasmanian government had started early trials of hemp crops, Rochfort applied for a permit and planted a trial hemp crop as an alternative feed. The results were impressive, he said.

            “The geese loved it, and they grew on it beautifully,” Rochfort told The Veterinarian.

            When the hemp-reared geese became the flavour of international markets, Rochfort tried to maximise the yield from his crop by producing hemp based food for human consumption, based on hemp seed. "There are huge health benefits. Hemp seeds are high in omega 3,6 and 9 fatty acids, and gammalinoleic acid,”  Rochfort said.

            When the government refused to agree to the use of hemp for human consumption, Rochfort turned to pets, coming up with hemp-seed based dog biscuits. The seed was tested and approved for use in animal food products by both state and federal governments.

Rochfort was granted a licence for the manufacture and sale of the biscuits solely as pet food.

            The treats, recently available in NSW and Tasmania, are subject to stringent tests by forensic police to ensure that biscuits contain less that 0.005 per cent (or 50mg/kg) of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). This is the lowest percentage of THC detectable by current tests. Illicit hemp seeds frequently contain THC levels as high as 200mg/kg.

            As a condition of the licence, the biscuits carry a “not for human consumption” warning label. Rochfort agrees that the occasional human will no doubt sample the dog biscuits, but promises that they will be sorely disappointed. “There’s nothing we can do to stop humans trying the biscuits, but they might as well eat a bag of Goodos,” he says. “Even large amounts of these biscuits will not alter an animal’s consciousness.”

            John Galloway, Chief Pharmacist for Tasmania, confirmed that the product did not pose a risk to human health.

            “Our view is that it does not present a risk to public health while the content is under 50ppm.  If a human rather than a dog chooses to consume a biscuit then there would negligible psychoactive effect.”

            Owners hoping the hemp component of the biscuits will have a sedative effect on hyperactive dogs will also be disappointed. “I’ve already had an email from a customer asking if I think the biscuits will help calm her ‘hyped up’ dog, and no doubt other owners will expect that, but we’re quite clear that it doesn’t have that affect,” Rochfort said.

            Rochfort admits that veterinarians who have encountered the client whose "dog ate my stash" may be initially wary of the product. But hemp overdose is not a condition Rochfort would wish on any animal. His late dog Buddy suffered from severe THC toxicosis when fed hash cookies by illicit drug users.

            The 14-year-old dog suffered severe psychoactive effects and gastritis.

“I can still recall exactly his facial expressions,” Rochfort said. “His eyes were moving around, I don’t know what was going on in his mind but he was crook. It was not a good experience for him and I would not want to put any dog through that.”

            With a name like Hemp Hound Hors d’oeuvres, the biscuits will sell on novelty value, but Rochfort has avoided the use of the iconic serrated cannabis leaf on packaging and promotional material as he does not want to sensationalise the use of hemp. “I’m trying to do things the right way and only promote the health benefit side of it,” he said.

            The biscuits are sold in 200g packs, for the recommended retail price of $9.95. They have been approved for sale throughout Australia.

            The use of hemp seed in human health foods has since been endorsed by the Australia and New Zealand Food Advisory Committee, but the Federal Government remains concerned about control of raw material.

For more information, or to stock Hemp Hound Hors d’oeuvres,

contact Elisa Rochfort on (03) 6428 6486 or 0407 366 724.