Is Cannabis the Key to Stopping the Spread of COVID-19?
Laugh all you want at the idea of weed being a possible way to prevent infection by COVID-19, but there are actual studies that support the theory.
Several new reports state that compounds in Cannabis may prevent COVID-19 infection.
These reports come from actual government studies. According to the summary from a preprint from the National Institutes of Health, 'Cannabidiol from the cannabis plant has potential to prevent and inhibit SARS-CoV-2 infection.' Say what? Keep in mind, this is a preprint, which means this research hasn't undergone peer review yet.
So, if you spent the majority of the pandemic in a cloud of smoke and haven't had COVID yet, either the researchers are right or you were too high to get off the couch to be exposed.
Before you decide to reenact a scene from a Cheech and Chong movie, keep reading. Researchers from Oregon State University have isolated two acids, CBGA and CBGB, derived from hemp, that bind themselves to the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein which in turn blocks part of the process the virus uses to infect individuals.
This is new information and no one is advocating that you go out and get high.
Clearly, more research is needed. And there's no need to stalk your doctor for a medical marijuana prescription. The compounds are available in hemp and many hemp extracts, including CBD. As you probably know, hemp and CBD products are legal and readily available in everything from clothing to moisturizers. That means you don't need actual weed which contains THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana.
Is cannabis the key to stopping COVID-19? It sure seems more palatable than the livestock anti-parasitic Ivermectin.