The ordinances would make the sale of e-cigarettesÌýÌýwhen shipping to San Francisco addresses.

San Francisco Mayor London Breed has 10 days to sign the legislation, which she has said she will do. The law will be enforced seven months from that date, in early 2020.

San Francisco Supervisor Shamann Walton, who co-authored the legislation, sees it as part of a long-term battle against the effects of smoking.

“We spent a few decades fighting big tobacco in the form of cigarettes,” Walton said. “Now we have to do it again in the form of e-cigarettes.”

Under federal law, the minimum age to buy tobacco products is 18.ÌýÌý, however, have raised that age to 21 or passed measures that will set it to 21 by 2021. Despite this, use of e-cigarettes, or vaping, has skyrocketed among teenagers nationally.

Last year,ÌýÌýreported vaping in the past month. That’s almost double the number fromÌý. Even eighth graders are vaping in record numbers.

These increases come afterÌýÌýin teenagers smoking traditional cigarettes.

Public health officials are concerned about the rising number of teenagers using e-cigarettes, as nicotineÌý. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns that young people who vape may beÌý.

Walton said he’s disgusted with the actions of Juul and similar companies, who he said are “putting profits before the health of young people, and people in general.”

Despite the tobacco age limit, Walton noted that vaping devices are commonly confiscated from students in the city’s middle and high schools.

The ordinance is accompanied byÌýÌýthat prevents the manufacture, distribution and sale of e-cigarettes on San Francisco property. The ordinance takes direct aim at Juul Labs, which leases space from the city on San Francisco’s Pier 70. The ordinance is not retroactive, so it would not remove Juul from the company’s current space, but it would prevent other e-cigarette makers from renting city property in the future. In a statement, Juul spokesman Ted Kwong wrote that, regardless, the company does not “manufacture, distribute or sell our product from this space.”

Juul’s vaping device was introduced in 2015. It’s small, sleek and discreet, looking similar to a flash drive. The company now controls 70% of the vaping market.

In a statement, Juul Labs said it shares the city’s goal of keeping e-cigarettes away from young people. The company said it has madeÌýÌýand has shut down Juul accounts on Facebook and Instagram.

But, the company argues that “the prohibition of vapor products for all adults in San Francisco will not effectively address underage use and will leave cigarettes on shelves as the only choice for adult smokers, even though they kill 40,000 Californians every year.”

Walton doesn’t buy that argument, however. He said that’s simply “trading one nicotine addiction for another.” What’s more, he’s concerned that for every adult that might benefit, dozens of young people could become addicted.

San Francisco resident Jay Friedman said the complete e-cigarette ban goes too far. The software engineer smoked a pack of cigarettes a day for 20 years, and smoking e-cigarettes has reduced his regular cigarette habit to two to three a day. He said he feels better physically.

Friedman supported a ban on flavored tobacco thatÌý. “I feel like it was good to get rid of the fruit flavors for kids,” he said, “but this feels like maybe a step too far.”

If e-cigarettes are banned, he said, he would try to quit nicotine altogether. But, “there would be a point in a moment of weakness where I’d just end up buying a pack of smokes again and then it’s just a slippery slope from there.”

Small businesses in San Francisco are concerned the ban will hurt their bottom line.

Miriam Zouzounis and her family own Ted’s Market, a convenience store near downtown San Francisco. She said e-cigarettes are an “anchor” product: They draw people into the store.

“When people come and want to purchase something at the store and we don’t have that exact item that they want, they’re not going to buy the rest of the items that they might on that trip: a drink or a sandwich,” Zouzounis said.

She said sales from e-cigarettes account for at least $200 to $300 a day in sales. As a board member of the Arab American Grocers Association, she said she believes laws like this mostly affect businesses owned by immigrants.

Abbey Chaitin is a 15-year-old lifelong San Francisco resident. She isn’t drawn to using e-cigarettes, she said, because she has seen peers become addicted to them.

“I’ll see them in class fidgeting,” Chaitin said. “They need it to focus, to function.”

And Chaitin predicted that, regardless of a ban, young people will still get their hands on e-cigarettes: “People my age can find a way around that if they really need to,” she said.

Meanwhile, Juul is collecting signatures for aÌýÌýto override the ban.

This story is part of a partnership that includes , and Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent program of theÌý.

ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about .

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Cuando traté de levantarla, se tambaleó y estuvo a punto de caerse. Mientras caminábamos al veterinario, saltaba como un cachorro persiguiendo pelotas imaginarias.

Más tarde, en una clínica veterinaria del Mission District de San Francisco, le realizaron pruebas y concluyeron que la salud de Maizey no corría peligro.

Y se aventuraron a decir que Maizey estaba simplemente drogada. Marihuana.

¿Cómo se drogan los perros?

“Los perros se meten en todo”, dijo la veterinaria Dorrie Black de la clínica , en San Francisco.

Treinta y tres estados y el Distrito de Columbia ya de alguna forma. Y desde que Colorado introdujo la marihuana recreativa en 2014, lo mismo hicieron otros nueve estados y DC. A medida que la hierba se ha vuelto más fácil de conseguir para la gente, también se ha convertido en un peligro para los perros.

Black dijo que los perros ingieren marihuana al comerse la colilla de un cigarro, o hurgando en la marihuana comestible de alguien, ya sea en casa, en la calle o en los parques.

En San Francisco, y otras ciudades donde gran número de personas viven en las calles, las heces humanas contaminadas con marihuana son otra fuente de ingestión. Esto es lo que creemos que le pasó a Maizey. Había pasado bastante tiempo entre los arbustos del parque la mañana que se drogó.

“A los perros les encanta ese olor; para ellos es perfume”, dijo Black.

Black y otros veterinarios dicen que esto se está volviendo habitual en el Área de la Bahía, al aumentar la población de personas sin hogar.

¿Cómo se comporta un perro drogado?

ÌýEl veterinario Benjamín Otten de la clínica Ìý en El Cerrito, California, dijo que busca estos síntomas para identificar la “toxicidad de la marihuana” en un perro:

• Movimientos tambaleantes, como una persona que está borracha
• Goteo de orina
• Mirada aturdida u ojos vidriosos
• Baja temperatura
• Nerviosismo

Los perros tienen estos síntomas porque el THC —el elemento psicoactivo de la marihuana— es venenoso para ellos. Sin embargo, ninguno de los veterinarios entrevistados para este artículo dijo haber visto morir a un animal por la toxicidad de la marihuana.

“No hay nada en esa droga en sí que los mate”, dijo Black. “No causa falla orgánica. No causa insuficiencia hepática, insuficiencia renal”.

Lo que puede suceder, apuntó Black, es que la droga sede a un perro tan profundamente que le haga inhalar su propio vómito, y eso puede ser letal. Por eso, Black advierte a los dueños de mascotas que extremen las precauciones.

“Si no sabes la cantidad que consumieron, es recomendable ir al veterinario”, señaló.

Ìý

en Colorado encontró que dos perros murieron después de comer productos horneados con chocolate y mantequilla con infusión de marihuana, pero no está claro si fue por la marihuana, el chocolate o la combinación de esos componentes. La mantequilla y el chocolate negro, ingredientes comunes en los productos comestibles de marihuana, pueden ser altamente tóxicos para los perros.

Por otra parte, el cannabidiol, o CBD, se vende a los dueños de mascotas para una variedad de enfermedades. Pero no está clara su eficacia para tratar cosas como la ansiedad animal y las convulsiones, y los veterinarios no están autorizados a recomendar el CBD (aunque un en el Senado de California podría cambiar eso).

¿Cómo tratar a un perro que ha ingerido marihuana?Ìý

Para reducir los efectos de la marihuana en un perro, Black señala algunas opciones: los veterinarios pueden inducir el vómito, bombear el estómago de un perro o darle carbón activado, lo que ayudará a eliminar la marihuana del sistema del animal.

En promedio, un perro tarda unas 24 horas en volver a la normalidad, pero esto varía dependiendo de la potencia y la cantidad de marihuana que haya consumido.

Otten, que trabajó como veterinario de emergencia, bromeó sobre lo que solía decirles a los dueños de mascotas: “Vamos a llevarnos a tu perro, vamos a ponerlo en una habitación tranquila. Vamos a tocar algo de Led Zeppelin y le daremos Doritos, y podrás recogerlo por la mañana”.

¿Cuánto cuesta tratar a tu perro?

La factura del veterinario nos costó $300, pero el veterinario John de Jong, presidente de la , dijo que los análisis de sangre y los líquidos intravenosos podrían costar hasta $1,000.

¿Qué pasa con los gatos?

Parece que no es tan usual que los gatos ingieran marihuana. Black dijo que sólo ha visto un caso de un gato en sus 17 años en medicina veterinaria de emergencia.

Aunque De Jong tampoco ha visto a ningún gato drogado en su consulta, explicó que a algunos gatos les gusta masticar plantas, lo que podría ser un problema si alguien cultiva marihuana en casa.

¿Cómo han cambiado las cosas para los perros con la legalización para los humanos?

De Jong, que ejerce en Massachusetts, está viendo más casos de toxicidad por marihuana. La marihuana es legal para fines médicos y recreativos en el estado.

“En los estados que han legalizado la marihuana, estamos viendo un aumento en los casos de toxicidad por marihuana en mascotas, especialmente en perros”, señaló De Jong.

Las llamadas al Centro de Control de Envenenamiento de Animales de la ASPCA por perros que han ingerido marihuana se desde el año pasado, y las llamadas a la se han en los últimos cinco años. Un , en Colorado, encontró una correlación entre el número de licencias médicas de marihuana y los casos de intoxicación por marihuana en perros.

En California, tanto Black como Otten dijeron que los cambios en la legalidad de la marihuana no han aumentado significativamente el número de visitas por perros drogados. Black explicó que ve hasta tres perros afectados por semana en el verano.

Sin embargo, Black y Otten aseguran que lo que ha cambiado es la potencia de las drogas que consumen los perros.

Black contó que, al principio de su carrera en medicina veterinaria de emergencia, la toxicidad por marihuana consistía en un perro que se comía la colilla de un cigarro con cantidades bastante bajas de THC. Pero “con el tiempo aumentó la toxicidad debido a la marihuana medicinal y a los comestibles”, añadió.

En cuanto a Maizey, se puso bien a los pocos días de su incursión en el cannabis canino. Aunque antes parecía interesada en las pelotas imaginarias, ahora ha vuelto a perseguir las de verdad.

Esta historia es parte de una asociación que incluye a , y Kaiser Health News.

ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about .

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When I tried to get her up, she stumbled, nearly falling over while standing still. Walking to the vet, she leaped like a puppy chasing imaginary balls.

Later, at the 24-hour veterinary clinic in San Francisco’s Mission District, the staff ran tests and determined Maizey was in no immediate danger.

Instead, they wagered a guess that Maizey was simply high. On marijuana.

How Are Dogs Getting High?

“Dogs will get into anything and everything,” said veterinarian Dorrie Black of the San Francisco-based veterinary clinic .

Thirty-three states and the District of Columbia now in some form. And since Colorado ushered in recreational marijuana in 2014, nine more states and D.C. have followed. As weed has become easier for people to get, it has also become a hazard for dogs.

Black said dogs ingest marijuana by eating the remainder of a joint, or getting into someone’s edible marijuana, either at home, on the street or in parks.

Another unsavory source in San Francisco — and other cities with high numbers of people living on the streets — is human feces tainted with marijuana. This is, in fact, what we think happened to Maizey. She had spent quite a bit of time in the park bushes the morning she got stoned.

“Dogs love that [poop] scent; to them, it’s perfume,” said Black.

Black and other veterinarians see this becoming more common in the Bay Area, as the homeless population grows.

What Does A High Dog Look Like?

Veterinarian Benjamin Otten of veterinary clinic in El Cerrito, Calif., said he looks for these telltale symptoms when identifying “marijuana toxicity” in a dog:

• Wobbly movements, like a person who is drunk
• Dribbling urine
• A dazed or glazed look in their eyes
• Low temperature
• Nervousness

Dogs exhibit these symptoms because THC — the psychoactive element of marijuana — is poisonous to them. Despite that, none of the vets interviewed for this story had seen an animal die from marijuana toxicity.

“There’s nothing about that actual drug itself that will kill them,” Black said. “It doesn’t cause any organ failure. It doesn’t cause liver failure, renal failure.”

What can happen, Black said, is that the drug can sedate a dog so fully that it will inhale its own vomit, which can be lethal. For that reason, Black cautions pet owners to play it safe.

“If you do not know the quantity that they got into, I’m always going to recommend that you go to your vet,” she said.

A Colorado found that two dogs who’d ingested chocolate baked goods made with marijuana-infused butter had died, but it’s unclear if this was from the marijuana, the chocolate or the combination of those components. Butter and dark chocolate, common ingredients in edible marijuana products, can be highly toxic to dogs.

Cannabidiol, or CBD, on the other hand, is marketed to pet owners for a variety of pet ailments. But the research is incomplete about its efficacy for treating things like animal anxiety and seizures, and veterinarians are not allowed to recommend CBD to patients (although making its way through California’s Senate could change that).

How Do You Treat A Dog That Has Ingested Marijuana?

To reduce marijuana’s effects on a dog, Black said, there are a few options: Veterinarians can induce vomiting, pump a dog’s stomach or give the dog activated charcoal, which will help remove the marijuana from the dog’s system.

On average, it typically takes about 24 hours for a dog to return to normal — but it varies depending on the strength and amount of marijuana the dog has eaten.

Otten, who formerly worked as an emergency vet, joked about what he used to tell pet owners: “We’re gonna take your dog in, we’re gonna put him in a quiet room. We’re gonna play some Led Zeppelin for him and give him some Doritos, and you can pick him up in the morning.”

How Much Does Treating Your Dog Cost?

While my own vet bill put us out $300, veterinarian John de Jong, president of the , said interventions like bloodwork and IV fluids could cost up to $1,000.

What About Cats?

It seems to be rarer for cats to ingest marijuana. Black said she has seen only one case involving a cat in her 17 years in emergency veterinary medicine.

While de Jong also has not seen any high cats come through his practice, he said, some cats do like to chew on plants, which could be an issue if someone is growing marijuana at home.

How Has Legalization For Humans Changed Things For Dogs?

De Jong, who is based in Massachusetts, is seeing more incidences of marijuana toxicity. Marijuana is legal for medical and recreational purposes in Massachusetts.

“In those states that have legalized marijuana, we are seeing an increased incidence of marijuana toxicity in pets, especially in dogs,” he said.

Recreational marijuana is and the District of Columbia, and many more states allow medical marijuana.

Calls to the ASPCA’s Animal Poison Control Center about dogs eating weed have , and calls to the have in the past five years. A conducted in Colorado found a significant correlation between the number of medical marijuana licenses and marijuana toxicosis cases in dogs.

In California, both Black and Otten said the changes to marijuana’s legality have not significantly increased the number of visits they get from blitzed dogs and their owners. Black said she sees up to three affected dogs a week in the summer.

What Black and Otten said has changed, however, is the potency of the drugs the dogs are consuming.

Black said that at the start of her career in emergency veterinary medicine, marijuana toxicity consisted of a dog eating the end of a joint with fairly low amounts of THC. But, she said, “we got heavier and heavier toxicities over time because of medical grade marijuana and because of edibles.”

As for Maizey, she was just fine a few days after her foray into canine cannabis. Though she once seemed interested in imaginary balls, now she has settled back into chasing real ones.

This story is part of a partnership that includes , and Kaiser Health News.

ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about .

USE OUR CONTENT

This story can be republished for free (details).