Scientists at the University of Chicago have found that consumption of Cannabidiol or CBD can be effective against COVID-19.
They published the results of their studies in the noted journal Science Advances.
They first tested their theory on mice. After finding positive results, they tested it on humans. CBD was found to block the replication of COVID cells in the body.
The scientists also found data on patients taking a CBD-derived drug for seizures. They found that of the 1,212 patients taking CBD studied, 6.2 percent had caught COVID versus 8.9 percent of those in a control group of 1,212 people who did not take CBD-derived medications.
While the difference might seem small, the scientists called it “significant.”
The proper scientific process takes a long time. The authors of the scientific report did not endorse CBD as treatment or preventative use yet.
The next step in the process is larger-scale tests and experiments.
“We advocate carefully designed placebo-controlled clinical trials with known concentrations and highly-characterized formulations in order to define CBD’s role in preventing and treating early SARS-CoV-2 infection,” the researchers write.
The scientists at the University of Chicago were wary of the effect of THC on treatment. THC is the cannabinoid is that gets a person high. They also criticized the nature of the largely unregulated CBD market, which can make it difficult to find quality products
“Although many CBD and CBD-containing products are available on the market, they vary vastly in quality, CBD content, and their pharmacokinetic properties after oral administration, which are mostly unknown,” the researchers said in their article.
How Does Cannabis affect COVID-19 treatment?
The scientists are unsure how the rest of the parts of cannabis affect COVID-19 treatment. One scientist said, “Other cannabinoids such as THC might act to counter CBD antiviral efficacy.”
A separate COVID-19 and cannabis study found that the cannabinoids Cannabigerolic Acid (CBGA) and Cannabidiolic Acid (CBDA) were particularly effective against COVID.
“These compounds can be taken orally and have a long history of safe use in humans,” said Richard van Breemen of the Global Hemp Innovation Center at Oregon State University.
“They have the potential to prevent as well as treat infection by SARS-CoV-2,” he added.
Research to treat and stop the spread of COVID using cannabis and CBD was being explored at different colleges in the United States and Israel. However, neither had produced the desired, encouraging results.
CBD first became popular when it was found that a young girl named Charlotte Figi got effective results. Her parents gave her CBD heavy cannabis strains to treat her seizures. It was found to be a very effective treatment that caught national attention and hastened the legalization of CBD. Figi, however, remained a sickly girl. She died of COVID at the age of 13 in April 2020.
COVID is especially harmful to those with compromised immune systems.
CBD has been used to treat several different ailments from chronic pain, anxiety, depression, autoimmune inflammation, and others. It is among the estimated 100 cannabinoids or properties of the plant. CBD is one of the most effective for health reasons.
Due to national cannabis prohibition in the United States, little is known about cannabis plants. It is a very complex plant worth studying.
