If you know a stoner, you know that they will always turn to cannabis as a cure-all. Headaches, body aches, shitty movies, weed tends to help everything get better. With the current COVID-19 pandemic, social media has gone…viral…with claims saying the same thing to be true with treating this current strain of CoronaVirus. Even former NFL All-American Kyle Turley is taking to the air saying that CBD can cure and even prevent COVID-19. Research is underway, nothing is concrete yet. However, it can help in a few different ways.
Marijuana is made up of two active components. THC and CBD. THC, is the component that gives the user a “High feeling.” CBD is a non-psychoactive compound taken from cannabis and hemp; it does not produce a high. The FDA has only approved CBD for treating rare and severe forms of seizure, although it is promoted for many other health benefits.
Former NFL Offensive lineman Kyle Turley is the founder of Neuro Armour, A THC-free cannabis oil. Turley believes that CBD can ignite the cannabinoid system, the CB1 and CB2 receptors that battle viruses. He believe CBD can be used to restore the body to “homeostasis.” He says in an interview with Dr. Phil. Turley answered questions about his claims saying that he believes CBD can boost the immune system to “10” and defeat COVID-19 but the FDA has warned him to stop making this claim. The former NFL lineman claims the warning came because Cannabis is a Federally Schedule 1 drug, not because the claims he was making about CBD were false or unfounded.
According to a Leafly interview with NY physician Dr. Junella Chin, what cannabis is good for during the COVID-19 Pandemic is to help treat the anxiety people might be having during this historic time. If users are COVID symptom free, keep on using as before. It is not recommended to smoke if you do have a cold, flu, or symptoms of COVID-19. CBD and THC edibles can help with the aches and pains associated with severe colds and flus.
In a separate interview with Canadian Dr. Shawn Meirovici, who specializes in pain management, he states there is no direct link between cannabis use and treating colds and the flu. He does say that there is new evidence that pain management can be achieved when responsibly used. “The cannabinoids THC and CBD have been shown to have pain-relieving, sleep-inducing, and anti-inflammatory properties,” he says. On sick days, he suggests cannabis may help reduce body aches, ease inflammation of the airways, and increase relaxation to help you sleep. As for flu symptoms, he says cannabis may also have “antipyretic or fever-reducing properties, due to its ability to suppress the immune system.” He says some research suggests CBD has anti-viral properties.
In an article posted on WEB MD in June 2019, research on CBD against different types of bacteria, including bacteria that has become resistant to traditional antibiotics, was being done. The research was presented at the Annual meeting of the American Society for Microbiology by PhD, Mark Blaskovich, senior research officer at the Centre for Superbug Solutions at the Institute for Molecular Bioscience at the University of Queensland in Australia. It should be noted that information presented at meetings is still preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed medical journal. Blaskovich is a consultant for Botanix Pharmaceuticals, Ltd. The Australian government and Botanix are funding the research study into treating skin conditions with CBD. Although the research studies are in their preliminary stages and have not reached the human trials yet, the findings are very promising.
“The first thing we looked at is CBD’s ability to kill bacteria. In every case, CBD had a very similar potency to that of common antibiotics.”
The researchers tested the CBD against some strains of staphylococcus, which cause skin infections, and streptococcus, which cause strep throat.
They compared how effective CBD was compared to common antibiotics, vancomycin and daptomycin. “We looked at how quickly the CBD killed the bacteria…within 3 hours, which is pretty good. Vancomycin kills over 6 to 8 hours.”
The CBD also disrupted the biofilm around bacteria that makes it more difficult for the antibiotic to penetrate and kill. The lab studies showed that “CBD is much less likely to cause resistance than the existing antibiotics,” Blaskovich says.
Research found CBD effective against gram-positive bacteria but not gram-negative. Gram-positive bacteria cause serious skin infections and pneumonia, among other conditions. Common gram-negative bacteria are salmonella and E. coli .
The researchers tested topical CBD to treat a skin infection on mice. Blaskovich says, although it did not clear the infection, it cut the number of bacteria after 48 hours.
It’s promising but still too early to tell if CBD will be a super bug killer but the research so far is very positive. Until research is completed, people should probably continue to follow doctors’ orders when it comes to antibiotics. However, it doesn’t look like using CBD will hurt in any way and might even help antibiotics if the research is correct. As far as a cure for COVID-19, still no.
By Bishop Henry
