Scientists believe cannabis could help prevent and treat coronavirus .

NY Post: Scientists believe cannabis could help prevent and treat coronavirus.

A team of Canadian scientists believes it has found strong strains of cannabis that could help prevent and then treat coronavirus infections, according to interviews and a study.

Researchers from the University of Lethbridge said that a study in April showed at least 13 cannabis plants high in CBD that appeared to affect the ACE2 pathways that the bug uses to access the body.

“We were totally stunned at first, and then we were really happy,” one of the researchers, Olga Kovalchuk, told CTV News.

The results, printed in online journal Preprints, indicated hemp extracts high in CBD may help block proteins that provide a “gateway” for COVID-19 to enter host cells.
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Stressing that more research was needed, the study gave hope that if proven to modulate the enzyme it “may prove a plausible strategy for decreasing disease susceptibility” as well as “become a useful and safe addition to the treatment of COVID-19 as an adjunct therapy.”

Cannabis could even be used to “develop easy-to-use preventative treatments in the form of mouthwash and throat gargle products,” the study suggested, with a “potential to decrease viral entry” through the mouth.

More: Smokers Appear Less Likely to Be Hospitalised with COVID-19.

Smokers Appear Less Likely to Be Hospitalised with COVID-19.

Bretibart: Study: Smokers Appear Less Likely to Be Hospitalised with COVID-19.

    Smoking increases susceptibility to respiratory infections and media reports suggest that it may increase the risk of being infected with acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus responsible for COVID-19. SARS-CoV-2 is known to use the angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) as a receptor for cell entry, and there is evidence that smoking down-regulates ACE2 expression in the lung and other tissues.

Their findings, though surprising, appear to be supported by the latest statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). These too show that – contrary to expectations – relatively few smokers and ex-smokers have been hospitalised with COVID-19.

    CDC is gathering information about underlying conditions and Covid-19 diagnoses. Smoking status numbers are *very* interesting.https://t.co/iv0FpfPSHy pic.twitter.com/5ojmWcpu91

    — Phil (@phil_w888) March 31, 2020

I knew smoking would have an upside.

Here comes more global warming Climate Change!

The calm...

Before the storms.

Map: Weather.gov

WCCO CBS: More snow, winds 40-50 mph.

I picked the wrong week(end) to...