A research paper from a team of scientists out of Canada has isolated 13 cannabis sativa strains that they say may aid in preventing and treating covid-19. The Canadian government sponsored research developed over 800 new cannabis sativa extracts with the hypothesis that they modulate ACE2 protein expressed in the host tissues that covid-19 targets for implanting itself.
So far, the team has been able to experimentally demonstrate that it is much more difficult for the SARS-CoV2 coronarivus to establish itself in test tissues in order to infect us with covid-19. Not that this means that these strains work in trials and are available for purchase over the counter.
The next steps for the Canadian team would be to more firmly establish the efficacy of the anti-protein approach from these specific cannabis sativa strains, and if those show promise to move on to human trials — if government approved and peer reviewed.
If this turns out to be an effective preventative or treatment for covid-19, then it represents a bonanza for the cannabis production industry as such a preventative would undoubtedly be very popular. It would also contribute to the activism toward the U.S. federal government legalizing cannabis sativa products.
