can cannabis prevent COVID-19 infection?

cannabis compounds may block covid-19 infection in human cells

an oregon state university study discovered that two botanical compounds found in hemp can prevent the coronavirus from infecting human cells. the two compounds commonly found in hemp, dubbed cannabigerolic acid (CBGA), and cannabidiolic acid (CBDA) were recognized during a chemical screening as having the potential to battle coronavirus.

the researchers tested the compounds’ effect against alpha and beta variants of the virus in a laboratory. the study did not prove the effect on human beings but showed effectiveness on human shells in a controlled laboratory environment. the team incubated the virus with cannabis compounds as well as a control without these compounds, injected them into human cells. the treated cells were lacking coronavirus RNA.

‘these variants (alpha and beta) are well known for evading antibodies against early lineage sars-cov-2, which is particularly concerning due to the fact that current vaccination strategies rely on the early lineage spike rbd as an antigen. our data show minimal impact of the variant lineages on the effectiveness of CBDA and CBGA, a trend that will hopefully extends to other existing and future variants.’

photo by esteban lopez on unsplash

get stoned to prevent covid infection?

hemp is used for fiber, food, and animal feed, and various hemp extracts and compounds have become popular additions to cosmetics, body lotions, dietary supplements, and food.

maybe cannabis compounds can prevent the virus that causes the COVID-19 pandemic from penetrating healthy human cells but don’t get too excited. smoking cannabis does not offer any protection.

as the researchers stated, the general use of hemp compounds from pot plants in combination with the vaccinations could aid to combat coronavirus spread.‘with widespread use of cannabinoids, resistant variants could still arise, but the combination of vaccination and cbda/cbga treatment should create a more challenging environment with which sars-cov-2 must contend, reducing the likelihood of escape.’

read more in-depth about the research here.

images courtesy of seedo (see more about this project here)images courtesy of seedo