To be clear, CBD does not cure COVID.

And the scientific study conducted didn’t actually come to that specific conclusion. Yet, leave it to social media to twist the study’s results and turn it into sensationalistic fodder.

What the Study Said

The study, conducted by a team of researchers from Oregon State University and the Oregon Health & Science University, found that CBDA and CBGA inhibited the spread of COVID in in vitro lab (petri dish) tests.

Because CBDA and CBGA are the raw forms of CBD and CBG and come from federally legal hemp, the team was able to do the research. And they discovered that at high levels of potency, CBDA and CBGA were able to reduce viral infections by half. And that’s definitely good news!

The results were published in the Journal of Natural Products and suddenly, CBD was a miracle cure. For about 48 hours, that is. Until the study was taken in context.

No, CBD Does Not Cure COVID

In the study, the researchers mixed live samples of the COVID virus with CBDA, CBGA, and a neutral control in a petri dish. And that’s the key point. A petri dish. No humans were involved in the study. In fact, it wasn’t even tested on lab mice.

And any researcher will tell you that what happens in a petri dish doesn’t necessarily translate into a real world scenario. Presenting cells in a culture to chemicals is not the same as something being digested by the human body.

Along with the vagaries of going through the digestive system, these chemicals also come into contact with the immune system and other detoxification systems. These all contribute to the interaction of the chemicals with the body. So it’s a much more complex journey than a simple introduction in a test tube.

Overhyping the Results

While the Oregon study is a “promising” first step, it in no way points to CBD as a cure. And yet, humans are always grasping for a quick “just add water and stir” solution. So the results of the studies have also inadvertently presented a risk.

Rather than get a vaccination proven to be effective against serious illness from COVID, some people may choose to opt for CBDA oil instead. Or, on the other end of the spectrum, there’s also the chance that CBD could be completely written off as just another overhyped miracle cure like Ivermectin.

The same thing happened several decades ago when high-dose cannabis was championed as a cancer-fighting medicine. And the ongoing studies on the impact of cannabinoids on cancer are promising. Plus, the benefits of using marijuana for treating the symptoms of cancer and chemotherapy are impossible to deny.

Yet over the decades, oncologists and scientists have made the same discovery that what happens in a petri dish isn’t the same as what happens in the human body. And they’ve had to repeatedly witness cancer patients with treatable malignancies buck conventional cancer treatments for cannabis “solutions.”

So yes. The Oregon study is a great first step. And surely there will be more studies addressing cannabinoids and their impact on COVID. But it does not cure COVID any more than bleach does.

And that’s a fact.

Keep Up With the Latest in Cannabis News

Though we’d love to be able to say otherwise, it’s clear that CBD does not cure COVID. But that sure doesn’t negate you from enjoying its many other benefits!

And if you’d like to stay current with what’s new and developing in the world of cannabis, keep regularly checking back with our blog.

The post CBD Does NOT Cure COVID appeared first on GROW Cannabis Marketing.

Medical News Today in 2017 writes how tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, was the most well-known compound in the cannabis plant, but they now realize marijuana contains THC and CBD. They say THC is known for the mind alerting “high” it produces when broken down by heat and introduced into the body, but on the other hand, CBD is a non-psychoactive compound which means it doesn’t affect the mind or mental processes of whoever is using it.

According to Leaf Science in 2017, there are two types of the cannabis plant, hemp which contains .03 percent THC, and marijuana which contains high levels of THC. They say hemp is usually harvested for its stalks and seeds rather than its flowers and these are the parts of the plant where CBD is legally allowed to be extracted.

Green says, according to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, imported hemp products are legal as long as they do not cause THC to enter the human body. He says that CBD products can be made from the legally grown domestic hemp, and sold in the state that they were made in. He expresses how it starts to get hairy when CBD products move across state lines. He says if you purchase CBD products, it doesn’t necessarily mean your purchase was legal, but it doesn’t mean the purchase was illegal either. Green explains how it all depends on the product, where/how is was created, and where/how it was sold. He says your best bet for legality purposes as well as quality purposes is to purchase CBD products from a licensed dispensary.

Medical News Today goes on to say that because of the way CBD acts in the body, it has many potential benefits. They say a study published in The Journal of Experimental Medicine found CBD significantly reduces chronic inflammation in some mice and rats. They say this proves how CBD can help treat pain or inflammation. They also say CBD is being studied for its possible role in treating epilepsy and other mental health disorders. Along with this, it’s being studied for its use as an anti-cancer agent, for patients with chronic anxiety, type 1 diabetes, acne, and Alzheimer’s disease.

Healthyhempoil.com in 2017 says when buying CBD products, you should pay attention to CBD volume, hemp oil volume, and concentration. They then discuss the different types of CBD products, starting with CBD capsules, which are standard dissolvable capsules that contain powdered hemp oil with concentrations of CBD. Then, they describe CBD tinctures, which they say are the most popular and arguably the most versatile form of CBD. They say tinctures are absorbed under your tongue, which means they act quickly, and can be added to any drink you choose. Finally, they discuss CBD topicals, which include lotions, creams, balms, and more, and are a handy way to target specific points of stiffness or inflammation on your body since CBD is absorbable through the skin.

On August 2017, co-founder, CEO, and Editor-in-Chief of GreenMarketReport, Debra Borchardt wrote how hemp cannabis product sales are projected to hit one billion dollars in the next three years. She says that according to a new report by Brightfield Group, hemp CBD sales have already hit 170 million dollars in 2016, and there is an expected 55 percent compound annual growth rate over the next five years. Brightfield says they determined that 64.5 percent of sales come through the online channel followed by 17.8 percent at smoke shops and thirdly 9 percent at dispensaries. They say the top 20 brands averaged sales of 2.1 million dollars per year per company for 2016, and the top five online brands were CW Hemp, PlusCBD Oil, HempMeds, Elixinol and CannazALL.

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