Interview Summary 1: The first interviewee I spoke with was my other aunt, different from the previously interviewed one, who has some different pets than the first aunt. This aunt has a pet rabbit, and in conducting this interview I found that the medical requirements and issues associated with rabbits and other rodents can differ greatly from those of canines and felines. Many animals also do not have the receptors in their brains that enable their bodies to interact with the cannabinoids in CBD. This is the main thing separating the medicinal needs of this aunt and her pets from the others I've interviewed, the previous interviewees were solely dog and cat owners for the most part. The underlying need is the same, but unfortunately the need cannot be met by the CBD-based medicine opportunity I have found among other pet owners.
Interview Summary 2: The second interviewee I spoke with, a family friend active in the herpetology community, had similar issues with this opportunity as the first interviewee. Like with the aforementioned rabbit and other rodents, CBD-based medicines are not effective against or able to be used with many of the ailments that reptiles suffer. This comes from not only the difficulty of administering the medication, but also the source of many of their ailments being different due to the presence of scales and a very different metabolism. Once again, the underlying need is the same, but the limits of CBD treatments are rapidly becoming apparent when applied to animals outside of the most common pets that people have: dogs and cats.
Interview Summary 3: The third interviewee is a friend I know who moved to Colorado for college, and their interactions with the legal cannabis industry there revealed some previously unknown aspects of CBD treatments and their availability. In the case of this interviewee, they still have the same needs as the others: their pets have issues that can be solved through the use of CBD treatments. This interviewee revealed to me that in certain areas, particularly those that have fully legalized cannabis and have been allowed to extensively research cannabis for medical use, CBD treatments for pets are rapidly becoming available for pet owners to administer to their pets at home. Their needs do not differ in the slightest from the others, but they still fall outside of the boundary because the need has simply been fulfilled in the region in which they live.
Interview Summary 4: The fourth interviewee is an aquarium enthusiast friend of my family's. The treatment of fish poses similar issues to those of other small animals like the above rodents and reptiles, but their aquatic nature makes treatment even more difficult, especially where CBD-based treatments are concerned. This interview and the others have helped to establish the boundaries of CBD treatments for pets not just where legality is concerned, but also where the actual treatment of different animals is concerned. According to my family-friend, fish pose even greater challenges than reptiles. Most medicines are placed directly into the water of the aquarium, so treatment of specific animals, which CBD treatments would presumably require, requires quarantine. This and other issues involved with aquariums make CBD treatments, like with the other animals, for the most part nonviable.
Interview Summary 5: The fifth interviewee does not own any animals that are not able to be treated through CBD-based treatments, but they simply have no need for the treatments. Their animals are all quite young and, thankfully, have had no health problems so far. CBD treatments are not the type of mediciation that one would give to an animal without their being some issue to treat, as is the case with most medications, so for the time being there is no reason for this interviewee to have this opportunity. This may be one of the more significant boundaries and aspects of CBD treatments, and medications in general, separating those who have the opportunity from those who do not. The need for these medications often will not come about until an animal is sick. While this will not greatly limit the opportunity, it will reduce the number of potential customers at times.
Table:
Inside the Boundary:
Who is in: owners of larger mammals such as dogs and cats, as well as possibly veterinarians in the future and other animal medical providers.
What the need is: a need for natural and safe medications for major and minor ailments with minimal side-effects.
Why the need exists: the need exists because many medications given to animals today, and people for that matter, have significant negative side-effects that can often outweigh the usefulness administering the medicine in the first place.
Outside the Boundary:
Who is not in: owners of smaller animals and those with unusual living and medical habits, such as small mammals, reptiles, and fish, as well as professionals in organizations that prevent the use of these medications, at least for now.
What the need is not: it is not the need for an everyday supplement to be used on animals, CBD treatments should not be used as a daily supplement, and so may not see use among people with younger animals.
Alternative explanations: people may also want to explore a new trend sweeping the alternative medicine field today.
It is true that reptiles, small mammals, and fish do not receive perhaps as much attention that dogs and cats do. This opportunity has so much potential because the evidence you will find of CBD working on animals will start to get humans to seriously consider its health benefits. Once the side effects of CBD can be appropriately examined and understood, then you will start to see more people who were typically outside of the need start to shift over to CBD medication.
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