Anonymous Poster:
 
I understand what you are saying, and I didn't expound on just how it
*could* be administered to ferrets (or other animals), but, FTR, I was
NOT talking about just blowing concentrated smoke right in their faces.
It would have to be controlled, slow and at a low level.  It would also
have to be done in such a manner that the technicians don't also get
stoned, too.  There would be a number of other factors to take into
consideration as well; it wouldn't be a matter of just putting them in
a box and blowing a joint's worth of smoke in there.  No, not at all -
it would be done in a "clinical" and safe manner (and that, only after
tests to see if it even works at all).
 
Your comment about heart rate is a good point to consider, and may be
enough to discount the idea altogether.
 
You said:
>I have cramps, sweats in bed at night, feelings of faintness, the
>shakes, all if I don't have pot or have enough.
 
Now, I can't argue that it is (at least) psychologically addictive, but I
have NEVER heard of these symptoms in my entire life from ANYONE who has
ever smoked pot, period.  Having smoked it since I was 13 (I'm now 48),
and having been stoned 24/7 for months on end, then gone without it when
the supply dried up for more months, I have never experienced, nor ever
heard of anyone else who has experienced, the symptoms you describe.
 
That sounds totally bogus, and sounds like the kind of thing that gives
non-smokers false impressions (like Nixon's propaganda films against it,
depicting pot smokers as "craven, desperate addicts").  Your symptoms
sound more like alcoholic DTs than anything else (or other harder drug
withdrawal symptoms).  Heck, back when *I* drank up to 120 ounces of malt
liquor per night, I didn't have those kind of symptoms at all!
 
But, back to the topic: I, too, don't subject my pets to it, even though
I do smoke it inside.  The way I smoke it, in a single hit toker, instead
of joints, does not fill the house with smoke as many assume; one "J"
lasts *me* three days!  And, I usually have the fan in the window
running.  Heck, the cats and ferrets are goofy enough as it is without
wasting it on *them* for no reason!  :o)
 
I also mentioned the possibility (in a rejected post) of using alcohol as
an alternative to common anesthesia in animals.  I don't know if it would
be feasible or not, but I have heard of it being used in emergencies for
surgery a number of times.  Naturally, there would be other factors to
consider, too, but a reasonable shot of *whatever*, might not be a bad
thing in some cases.
 
Anything that could spare ferrets the potential for death that today's
anesthesia presents (*can* present), is worth considering.
 
Gary
[Posted in FML issue 4310]