I’ve heard it repeated quite often that chocolate makes certain pets hallucinate. Is this true? What animals (is it true for cats, specifically)? Is it a toxic reaction? What causes it? Someone suggested to me that, if it’s true, it might be the cannabinoids the stuff contains that does it.
And there’s another thing I gotta ask while I’m on the topic. Could it be feasible to extract cannabinoids from chocolate, catnip, whatever, and produce a substance whose effects may be comparable to those of the stuff I pack my bong with?
I suppose it’s possible that a poisoned dog may suffer from hallucinations, as well, but how would you know? Even if you’re apt to break Burroughs commandment “Thou Shalt Not Blow Pot Smoke Into The Face of Thy Pet,” never, ever feed your dog chocolate with the expectation of getting him high.
The “THC-like” alkaloid is anandamide.
You can read about it’s pharmacological effects here.
Since anandamide’s effect on the cannabinoid receptors is very small, it seems doubtful that you could get a THC-like buzz from a safe dosage of synthetic or extracted anandamide. It should be noted that there are other psychoactive elements in chocolate that are totally unrelated to the cannabinoid receptors, the effects of which are much more noticible than that of anandamide.
Chocolate is toxic to parrots, too, and probably other birds. Might cause hallucinations, but in the same kind of way that rat poison induces hallucinations (not in a nice way).