Does Smoking Weed Fight COVID-19
Does smoking weed fight COVID-19, or does it increase your likely hood of getting infected? You have seen the tweet, Instagram post, even heard a comment from a friend with a smile “I am smoking weed to prevent COVID-19”. Since the coronavirus pandemic outbreak began weed consumers have a lot of questions about how their cannabis use may or may not impact their chances of contracting, and fighting off the COVID-19 virus. There are a lot of differing opinions on the subject and here at JustflowersDeliverys we want you to know the facts about Cannabis and COVID-19.
The research keeps coming in and points to both potential help and harm when related to COVID-19. The majority of the most recent medical studies, as of this writing, suggest that terpenes and CBD from weed an effective treatment for cytokines storms. Many deaths from COVID-19 have been result of over-elevation of cytokines and inflammation. Some other research suggests that cannabis use might increase the risk.
According to the World Health Organization
As a vaper am I more likely to be infected or to have more severe symptoms if infected with COVID-19?
- There is no evidence about the relationship between e-cigarette use and COVID-19.
What can cannabis do?
Cannabinoids such as cannabidiol (CBD) have a history of safe use and contain several properties which may be useful in treating certain medical symptoms: CBD has anti-inflammatory properties, can act as a vaso relaxant and has the ability to reduce pain and anxiety. In combination with other cannabinoids and terpenes, as well as necessary clinical intervention, CBD has much potential to treat the symptoms of a virus such as COVID-19. Whole plant cannabis extracts have also been shown to reduce blood coagulation in animal models; it is known that many of the negative systemic effects of COVID-19 appear to be related to altered coagulation, so it is possible that cannabis may be useful in managing these.
Prevention: Does Smoking Weed Fight COVID-19
To date, the range and scope of verifiable research data linking cannabinoids with COVID-19 prevention is highly limited; however, novel approaches to the prevention of COVID-19 include a single study examining the possibility of incorporating CBD into oral solutions, such as mouthwashes and throat gargling liquids, with a view to ‘lowering or modulating ACE2 levels in high-risk tissues’. Studies have found that ACE2 levels change during the progression of COVID-19 and therefore the ability to modulate these levels becomes particularly important as ACE2 has been shown to be essential for lung function in animal models of SARS viruses.
Does Smoking Weed Fight COVID-19: Reducing severity and impact
In analyses of COVID-19 there has been a significant degree of interest in the phenomenon of cytokine storm syndrome, wherein too many cytokine proteins are released in the body: these proteins can attack the lungs and overwhelm the immune system with hyper inflammation. Early evidence has tentatively indicated that CBD and THC may be beneficial in the treatment of patients whose bodies’ inflammatory response has become pathogenic.
Much research in this field has focused on the ability of cannabinoids and terpenes to lower the immune system’s response without suppressing it. Early findings in a study currently being conducted by terpene manufacturer Eybna and cannabis research and development firm CannaSoul Analytics, both from Israel, appear to indicate that the combination of terpenes and cannabinoids used is up to two times more effective than the corticosteroid dexamethasone, when used to reduce inflammation from COVID-19. The study has not yet been peer reviewed.
Another new approach currently being investigated in Israel is the development of a potential cell therapy treatment which uses CBD-loaded exosomes to treat COVID-19 patients. The intention of this technology is to ‘target both central nervous system indications and the COVID-19 coronavirus’. CBD-loaded exosomes hold the potential to provide a highly synergistic effect of anti-inflammatory properties by targeting specific damaged organs, such as infected lung cells.
Does Smoking Weed Raise My Risk of COVID-19?
Smoking anything means taking foreign particles into your lungs, which in general is bad. Taking in particles of plant and heated vapour irritates the lungs and may cause some degree of inflammation, and chronic use can damage your lungs over time. Most of the other risks have to do with touching, sharing things your are putting in your mouth with out proper COVID-19 precautions washing your hands before handling cannabis, pipes, and joints, as well as not sharing joints, vaporizers, and bongs with others. Cannabis edibles are a great alternative which both reduce your risk by not smoking and deliver the CBD benefits.
Cannabis and COVID-19 TIPS
- Do not share vaping devices, joints, or bongs
- Wash your hands before putting any type of cannabis product in your mouth
- Use only quality cannabis products from dispensaries like JustFlowersDeliverys
- Use Contactless delivery service to avoid exposure it’s fast, convenient, and free with JustFlowersDeliverys
References
- Coronavirus: what happens when you get infected? WebMD: https://www.webmd.com/lung/coronavirus-covid-19-affects-body#1.
- C. Coetzee, R.-A. Levendal, M. van de Venter, C.L. Frost. Anticoagulant effects of a cannabis extract in an obese rat model. Phytomedicine 14 (2007) 333–337.
- Kander, T. Coagulation disorder in COVID-19. https://doi.org/10.1016/ S2352-3026(20)30217-9.
- Wang, B.; Kovalchuk, A.; Li, D.; Ilnytskyy, Y.; Kovalchuk, I.; Kovalchuk, O. In search of preventative strategies: novel anti-inflammatory high-CBD Cannabis Sativa extracts modulate ACE2 expression in COVID-19 gateway tissues. Preprints 2020, 2020040315 (doi: 10.20944/preprints202004.0315.v1).
- Mabou Tagne A, Pacchetti B, Sodergren M, et al. Cannabidiol for viral diseases: hype or hope? Cannabis Cannabinoid Res. 2020;5:121–131.
- InnoCan Pharma collaborates with Tel Aviv University to develop a new revolutionary approach to treat the COVID-19 coronavirus with exosomes-loaded CBD. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/innocan-pharma-collaborates-tel-aviv-204600158.html.