Hemp-fed cows get high and produce THC-laced milk

New research published in the journal Nature Food has reported on the consequences of feeding dairy cows commercial hemp. Despite the hemp product containing negligible levels of psychoactive THC the researchers detected significant behavioral changes in the animals and measurable levels of THC in their milk.

The primary goal of the research was to investigate whether feeding hemp to livestock was safe for both the animal and the resulting animal products harvested for human consumption. Over the last few years hemp cultivation has increased as the market for CBD oil rapidly grew, but farmers are often left with huge volumes of hemp biomass once the cannabinoid compounds have been extracted.

To explore this question a team of researchers conducted several feeding experiments with lactating dairy cows. The animals daily ration of food was supplemented with hemp biomass of very low cannabinoid concentrations (delta-9 THC concentrations of 0.12%, below the permissible 0.2% threshold set for commercial hemp).

Behaviorally, the animals displayed a number of noteworthy changes after being fed the hemp. The researchers also reported measurable levels of cannabinoids could be detected in the cows' milk after they were fed hemp. These cannabinoids, particularly delta-9 THC, could be detected in levels the researchers suggest are relevant to human health.

It's unclear whether drinking the milk from these hemp-fed cows would actually lead to psychoactive effects in humans but the researchers do make clear the levels of cannabinoids they are detecting certainly could be an issue in children or breast-feeding women.

Image source: Hermann Traub / Wikimedia Commons.