Ever since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, rumors have been floating around about how ingesting cannabis can help prevent users from being infected with the virus. Before you cancel your vaccine or booster shot, you should know that the compound does not actually help prevent COVID. Although, a new study released in January of this year may have a different option for prevention.
These Compounds Can Actually Help
New research out of Oregon State’s Global Hemp Innovation Center, College of Pharmacy, and Linus Pauling Institute found that two compounds commonly found in hemp have the potential to combat the coronavirus. The compounds cannabigerolic acid, or CBGA, and CBDA block a critical step in the process the virus uses to infect humans. So far the acids have been found to be effective against the Delta and Alpha variants in preventing entry of the COVID-19 virus into human cells. Further studies are required to see if it is effective against the Omicron variant, according to NBC.
“The buzz lately has been about connecting the dots between CBD and COVID prevention or support. Obviously the research conducted by the team at Oregon State University speaks for itself in terms of where the bridges between CBD and COVID may intersect, but what we believe at Sky Wellness is that we are just scratching the surface of what we know about cannabinoid mother and minors in the CBD family and the positive and effective impacts it may have for preventative and therapeutic care, including virus-based maladies as research is indicating. To us, that is the exciting part. There is more research to do, more ground to cover, and more to discover that may — like this recent research suggests — show us use cases and value for CBD and its derivatives that have been right under our noses all this time,” Thom Brodeur, CEO of Sky Wellness, said.
To fully understand what is happening and why CBGA and CBDA help to block an infection, the American Chemical Society and American Society of Pharmacognosy explains that in the study, these two compounds prevented infection of human epithelial cells by a pseudovirus expressing the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and prevented entry of live SARS-CoV-2 into cells. As a complement to vaccines, small-molecule therapeutic agents are needed to treat or prevent infections by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) and its variants, which cause COVID-19. Cannabinoid acids from hemp (Cannabis sativa) were found to be allosteric as well as orthosteric ligands with micromolar affinity for the spike protein.
A Brighter Future for COVID Prevention
Since the study was published, these rumors about how smoking a joint can help prevent getting COVID have increased exponentially, and they are completely false. Over-the-counter CBD drops will not help either, according to Forbes. Instead, what these findings may mean is that cannabis-derived medicines or preparations might supplement vaccines in the struggle to end the two-year-long pandemic. As more research is done on CBGA and CBDA, consumers may eventually be able to buy over-the-counter supplements to help fight the virus.