Cannabis And Covid: Cannabinoid Acids Found In Hemp Can Prevent And Treat Coronavirus Infection, New Research Suggests

As scientists around the world work furiously for nearly the past two years in an attempt to resolve the ongoing global pandemic, new research on cannabis and COVID-19 is providing some hope.

Can cannabis help against the coronavirus?

According to a report, “Cannabinoids Block Cellular Entry of SARS-CoV-2 and the Emerging Variants,” published in the Journal of Natural Products, certain cannabinoid acids from hemp (Cannabis sativa) can prevent infection from the virus that causes COVID-19 by obstructing its entry into cells. 

The study led by Richard van Breemen, a researcher with Oregon State's Global Hemp Innovation Center, College of Pharmacy and the Linus Pauling Institute discovered that two cannabinoid acids in hemp - cannabigerolic acid, or CBGA, and cannabidiolic acid, also known as CBDA have the ability to bind to the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein – the virus that causes COVID-19. By binding to the spike protein, these acids can block the virus from reaching into cells and causing infection, concluded the research.

“Orally bioavailable and with a long history of safe human use, these cannabinoids, isolated or in hemp extracts, have the potential to prevent as well as treat infection by SARS-CoV-2,” the researchers noted in the abstract of the study.

“These cannabinoid acids are abundant in hemp and in many hemp extracts,” van Breemen said, as quoted by local media. “They are not controlled substances like THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, and have a good safety profile in humans.”

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