You’ve seen the headlines at this point, everyone has. It’s the new rage in covid-related discussions, and the talk at every party. That’s right, it finally broke that cannabis might be able to be used against covid-19, the pandemic that’s got everyone riled up. But shouldn’t we already know this? Why is this even news? And how far have we gotten from out nature roots that these headlines draw such awe and confusion? When it comes to cannabis and covid, it’s a great time to remember that plants are extremely important, and Eastern medicine traditions that use them, should never be ignored.
Who’d have thought cannabis could be useful for covid? Well, honestly, anyone paying attention. But we’re not a world that does, and so though cannabis (and other plants) that might be/are useful against covid and other coronaviruses, big pharma will push pharmaceuticals instead. Luckily, you can access cannabis on your own to get those antimicrobial benefits, and we’ve got tons of products to get you on your way. Check out the THC Weekly Newsletter for all the most relevant news and industry stories, as well as some pretty sweet deals on flowers, vapes, edibles, and other products. We can offer huge savings on Delta 8, Delta 9 THC, Delta-10 THC, THCO, THCV, THCP & HHC products. Check out our deals in our “Best-of” lists!
What is covid-19
Technically, we should all have a working definition of what this is, but I want to go over some basic information on it anyway. To start with, Covid-19, also known as ‘severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2’ or SARS-CoV-2, is a virus of the Coronaviridae family, under the sub-heading of Orthocoronavirinae.
While it’s often called ‘novel’, this is strange terminology, as many of the dozens* (yes, dozens) of yearly viruses that come through each year, are new. Yet we don’t talk about the ‘novel flu virus’ every year. Beyond that, coronaviruses are not novel in the least. For example, we’re all familiar with the much more deadly SARS of a few years ago, which though being way more dangerous, didn’t seem to require the world to stand still.
And beyond that, coronaviruses have been known about for decades, with the terminology first used in 1968 by June Almeida and David Tyrrell who were two of the first to study coronaviruses in humans. In fact, the name ‘coronavirus’ was officially instituted in 1971 by the then-named International Committee for the Nomenclature of Viruses, now called the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses. Though this is where terminology came from, noted cases go back as far as the 1920’s. While the covid-19 strain might be new, coronaviruses are not, and the term ‘novel’ seems way more about building hype, than promoting accuracy.
Is this really a massive issue, or hype?
How common are they? As of 2020, there were 45 different species within this category. In fact, the first ones to be studied, were common cold viruses. Coronaviruses make up approximately 15% of common colds. Obviously, the viruses therefore have a range in their destructiveness, as we already stated that SARS is a coronavirus. SARS has been noted to have up to an 11% fatality rate. Weirdly – or for marketing purposes, agencies like WHO have decreased that percentage to 3%, though this contradicts the papers written at the time, the known understanding at the time, and seems to be a way to promote the reaction to a less serious virus, being this extreme.
We could debate forever about how deadly covid-19 actually is. We never got to the point of seeing bodies in the street, or watching people fall down dead, and this should be remembered. Nor is there a hole in society from all the deaths. Large death tolls are always noticeable. There might have been complaints about shortages of beds, but that’s a yearly occurrence more based on the occupancy required to run a hospital being high (80% minimum in the US), which doesn’t leave much room for any wintertime illness issues. And maybe best to keep in mind we’re warned about overfilled hospitals pretty much every year! Seriously, here are comparable complaints from 2019, 2018, a
nd 2017.
When looking at global death rates, 2020 does not stand out as a ‘problem’ and goes in line with a general yearly increase, likely due to population increases. These increases can be seen in about the same general ratio every year for decades. Weirdly enough, though I used to be able to find statistics specifically for yearly wintertime illness deaths, those same sources seem to have been deleted from the internet.
What does ‘antimicrobial’ mean? It means the ability to fight ‘bad microbes’ or microorganisms, which are comprised of viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites. Let’s remember that cannabis is already studied heavily for its antimicrobial properties, and that automatically makes it a possible candidate to work against covid. Cannabis can fight bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites.
So, what does antimicrobial resistance mean (the most common form spoken about is antibiotic-resistance)? It means when a standard medicine can no longer treat the bacteria, viruses, fungi, or parasites. Why does this happen? These microbes have the ability to mutate over time, and this allows them to change themselves to not be affected by medications like antibiotics, antivirals, antifungals, and anti-parasitics.
In terms of viruses, cannabis has already been studied quite a bit for antiviral properties, with tons of research pointing to its effectiveness for treating viruses, possibly even covid. Like this 2017 study called Potential of Cannabidiol for the Treatment of Viral Hepatitis where CBD was shown to inhibit hepatitis C replication by 86.4%. Or this study from 2020, An investigation on antiviral activity of extracts against in ovo Cannabis sativa Newcastle Disease Virus (NDV), which states: “There is significant antiviral activity of Cannabis sativa plant extracts against Newcastle virus (<0.05)”.