Hemp may help prevent Covid from entering human cells

[senona]

Research shows hemp compounds prevent COVID-19 virus from entering human cells, study says 

 Fauci and Pfizer would never, ever admit to naturopathic medicine possibly helping fight off covid symptoms.
Where's the profit in that?!?

They would discredit any doctor (they have) that insist natural remedies help the body heal itself from covid.





Hemp compounds were equally effective against the alpha and beta variants of COVID-19, researcher Richard van Breemen explained.(Oregon State University) 
 

CORVALLIS, Ore. (Gray News) – Researchers at Oregon State University have identified hemp compounds that show the ability to prevent the virus that causes COVID-19 from entering human cells.

According to the university, a pair of cannabinoid acids bind to the COVID-19 spike protein, which stops the virus from infecting people.

OSU said this “spike protein is the same drug target used in COVID-19 vaccines and antibody therapy.”

A disease or virus follows a specific process for infecting a person. A drug target is described as any molecule critical to that process that can be disrupted to stop infection or progression.


 

“These cannabinoid acids are abundant in hemp and in many hemp extracts,” said Richard van Breemen, a researcher with Oregon State’s Global Hemp Innovation Center. “They are not controlled substances like THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, and have a good safety profile in humans.”

Van Breemen explained the research showed the hemp compounds were equally effective against the alpha and beta variants of COVID-19.

They screened a range of botanicals used as dietary supplements, including red clover, wild yam, hops and three species of licorice, the university reported.

“Cell entry inhibitors, like the acids from hemp, could be used to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection and also to shorten infections by preventing virus particles from infecting human cells,” van Breemen said, adding compounds that block virus-receptor interaction has been helpful for patients with other viral infections.

SOURCE

[Ninurta]

Wondrous.

I have to wonder which varieties of hemp are the most effective. I guess it really boils down to which ones have those specific acids in them. I have seed for "Caramagnola" variety, high CBD, low THC, but I don't know how those specific acids factor in. I have fairly easy access to another variety of seed, high THC but lower CBD, but again I don't know about the content of those specific acids in it, so probably won't experiment there. The high CBD variants are s'posed to be great for PTSD, though.

There are, roughly, 1 gazillion cannabinoid compounds in hemp. It's heartening to realize that "hemp" usuallt denotes a high CBD, high fiber, and low THC variety of cannabis.

No, my "asymptomatic" covid was not prompted by any cannabis consumption. That's scheduled for next year, not the past one.

No cannabis plants were produced or harmed in the production of this post.

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[Kenzo]

I used last year hemp capsules, i believe it's good for health .....but it was too expensive and stopped buying it. 

Why hemp products cost so much ?  The products i am interested wont give you feeling of being high, only help health, but too expensive  now for me .

[Ninurta]

I used last year hemp capsules, i believe it's good for health .....but it was too expensive and stopped buying it. 

Why hemp products cost so much ?  The products i am interested wont give you feeling of being high, only help health, but too expensive  now for me .

The market will charge whatever it finds that the average customer will pay. In order to force the prices down, a critical mass of people have to say, at the same time, "I ain't paying that much for that crap!". Then the vendors find themselves stuck with an overage of stock that they cannot sell, and so have to drop prices to a reasonable level to move what they are stuck with.

When I was a teenager, hemp went for between 20 and 40 dollars an ounce. That was factoring in all the producers, smugglers, and drug cartel cuts that had to be paid out, and they all still made a tidy profit. Now it sells for between 300 and 800 dollars for that same ounce. They found out that people would pay that for it, and so now they make an even tidier profit.

Now to be fair, when I was a teenager, cannabis had only 2% to 4% THC content, and we were happy with that. Now it pushes 14% up to near 30% THC content, so there IS that to factor in. No damned wonder so many folks get couch-locked with it now!

That Carmagnola I have seed for has about a 14% CBD content, but a very low THC content, which makes it legal to grow. Federal law requires a THC content of less than 0.3% to grow legally and classify a cannabis plant as "hemp" rather than "marijuana". Same plant either way, it's just the THC content of any given plant that makes it "legal" or "illegal" here. That's why they are looking for people here to grow it commercially, and are getting so few takers - if a crop tests out at 0.4% THC or higher, the entire crop has to be destroyed, and that farmer takes a huge loss for the year. Who the hell wants to gamble their lives on that? At least when we were growing tobacco, the market was a bit more stable and less subject to the whims of a bureaucrat.

Oddly, when the state of Virginia made it legal to grow for personal use, they did not specify the THC content limits for state law, so it's the feds who will raid your crop if it goes over the THC content  limit. The state has other traps set than THC content. The first trap is that, while it's legal to grow up to 4 plants for personal use, it's illegal to obtain the seed to grow it, so a single plant currently proves that a law was broken, even though that plant itself is not illegal.

The second trap is possession limits. Up to an once is decriminalized, more or less "legal" with no risk of prosecution. 1.1 ounces to a pound is a misdemeanor, but anything over a pound is a felony. All for the SAME substance. One single plant can produce 2 to 4 pounds, so the legal 4 plants for personal use may produce anywhere from 8 to 16 pounds total - but remember, possession of anything over ONE pound is a felony! Possession of the proceeds from ONE legally grown plant, much less 4, can land you in the klink.

You can now legally give it away, but you cannot legally sell it. The entire body of law in the matter is utterly arbitrary, and there is no direction to go that does not have pitfalls set. So I can't imagine they'll find very many farmers here eager to convert their corn fields to hemp fields. Sure, you stand to make a lot of money out of it, but you also stand to lose your ass if it tests over the limits, or spend a lot of prison time if the DA takes a dislike to you and wants to put you away for what you thought was legal.

It's a Hobbs' Choice, and anyone would HAVE to be stoned to opt in to playing their game!

.

[Kenzo]

I used last year hemp capsules, i believe it's good for health .....but it was too expensive and stopped buying it. 

Why hemp products cost so much ?  The products i am interested wont give you feeling of being high, only help health, but too expensive  now for me .

The market will charge whatever it finds that the average customer will pay. In order to force the prices down, a critical mass of people have to say, at the same time, "I ain't paying that much for that crap!". Then the vendors find themselves stuck with an overage of stock that they cannot sell, and so have to drop prices to a reasonable level to move what they are stuck with.

When I was a teenager, hemp went for between 20 and 40 dollars an ounce. That was factoring in all the producers, smugglers, and drug cartel cuts that had to be paid out, and they all still made a tidy profit. Now it sells for between 300 and 800 dollars for that same ounce. They found out that people would pay that for it, and so now they make an even tidier profit.

Now to be fair, when I was a teenager, cannabis had only 2% to 4% THC content, and we were happy with that. Now it pushes 14% up to near 30% THC content, so there IS that to factor in. No damned wonder so many folks get couch-locked with it now!

That Carmagnola I have seed for has about a 14% CBD content, but a very low THC content, which makes it legal to grow. Federal law requires a THC content of less than 0.3% to grow legally and classify a cannabis plant as "hemp" rather than "marijuana". Same plant either way, it's just the THC content of any given plant that makes it "legal" or "illegal" here. That's why they are looking for people here to grow it commercially, and are getting so few takers - if a crop tests out at 0.4% THC or higher, the entire crop has to be destroyed, and that farmer takes a huge loss for the year. Who the hell wants to gamble their lives on that? At least when we were growing tobacco, the market was a bit more stable and less subject to the whims of a bureaucrat.

Oddly, when the state of Virginia made it legal to grow for personal use, they did not specify the THC content limits for state law, so it's the feds who will raid your crop if it goes over the THC content  limit. The state has other traps set than THC content. The first trap is that, while it's legal to grow up to 4 plants for personal use, it's illegal to obtain the seed to grow it, so a single plant currently proves that a law was broken, even though that plant itself is not illegal.

The second trap is possession limits. Up to an once is decriminalized, more or less "legal" with no risk of prosecution. 1.1 ounces to a pound is a misdemeanor, but anything over a pound is a felony. All for the SAME substance. One single plant can produce 2 to 4 pounds, so the legal 4 plants for personal use may produce anywhere from 8 to 16 pounds total - but remember, possession of anything over ONE pound is a felony! Possession of the proceeds from ONE legally grown plant, much less 4, can land you in the klink.

You can now legally give it away, but you cannot legally sell it. The entire body of law in the matter is utterly arbitrary, and there is no direction to go that does not have pitfalls set.

It's a Hobbs' Choice, and anyone would HAVE to be stoned to opt in to playing their game!

.

Whoa....i did not know it was so much cheaper before, and that THC content  ca be so much higher now. 

Yeeh i was thinking.....im not paying anymore , even thought i like the product.

Is the plant same anymore now than they used decades ago ? I mean did they create all new versions, modifications  , genetic manipulation ?

[Ninurta]

Whoa....i did not know it was so much cheaper before, and that THC content  ca be so much higher now. 

Yeeh i was thinking.....im not paying anymore , even thought i like the product.

Is the plant same anymore now than they used decades ago ? I mean did they create all new versions, modifications  , genetic manipulation ?

Same plant as always, but it has been selectively bred to make new "varieties" to fulfill certain wants. Sort of like there are different breeds of dogs for different purposes, or different breeds of cattle depending on whether you raise them for meat or for milk. It's not really genetic manipulation, it's just selective breeding.

Now there are hundreds, or maybe thousands, of different varieties, all with crazy names. For example, I could, if I wanted to, get some seed for a variety called "Bubbleum OG". I don't want that seed, because I have no idea what it is. The name is not really very descriptive. Way back when, you could get "Mexican Green", Acapulco Gold", Columbian Gold", Panama Red", etc. You new what you were getting, there was a naming convention. Right there in the name it told you where it was from, and the color showed the strength of it. Green--> gold--> red in order of increasing strength.

No more. Now, with names like "Bubblegum OG", it sounds more like they are marketing it to kids instead off adults.

ETA: The color-coded naming convention followed the color of the bag contents, and apparently the THC content in those days - green--> gold--> red roughly equated to 2%--> 3%--> 4% THC content, and that was reflected in the pricing of a 1 ounce bag, at least where I was - $20--> $30--> $40--> per ounce. It was a simple, straightforward naming system. Streamlined. You didn't need a Phd in Cannabis Culture to figure it all out.

.

[Kenzo]

Whoa....i did not know it was so much cheaper before, and that THC content  ca be so much higher now. 

Yeeh i was thinking.....im not paying anymore , even thought i like the product.

Is the plant same anymore now than they used decades ago ? I mean did they create all new versions, modifications  , genetic manipulation ?

Same plant as always, but it has been selectively bred to make new "varieties" to fulfill certain wants. Sort of like there are different breeds of dogs for different purposes, or different breeds of cattle depending on whether you raise them for meat or for milk. It's not really genetic manipulation, it's just selective breeding.

Now there are hundreds, or maybe thousands, of different varieties, all with crazy names. For example, I could, if I wanted to, get some seed for a variety called "Bubbleum OG". I don't want that seed, because I have no idea what it is. The name is not really very descriptive. Way back when, you could get "Mexican Green", Acapulco Gold", Columbian Gold", Panama Red", etc. You knew what you were getting, there was a naming convention. Right there in the name it told you where it was from, and the color showed the strength of it. Green--> gold--> red in order of increasing strength.

No more. Now, with names like "Bubblegum OG", it sounds more like they are marketing it to kids instead off adults.

Ok, selective breeding. Now i know thank you Ninurta. 

Bubblegum OG  do sound very odd , 

[Ninurta]

Ok, selective breeding. Now i know thank you Ninurta. 

Bubblegum OG  do sound very odd , 

I guess that's what you get when you let a bunch of pot-heads name their newly created strain of reefer all by themselves without any adult supervision!

 

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[Ninurta]

I just read the actual research paper from the researchers, and it is the CBD-A that is one of the two molecules that block covid cell entry, the other one being CBG-A. So, a high CBD strain of cannabis ought to do the trick.

PDF file of the actual research paper

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[GeauxHomeLittleD]

All I can say is this:

We are unvaccinated and have had 3 different strains of covid (original strain, delta and omnicron). I have several commorbidities (100% inoperable heart blockage, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and mild asthma). Yet here we both are, old, fat and unvaccinated... and still kicking and breathing without being hospitalized.

Do we do anything different than others who didn't make it through one strain much less three? No. Do we exercise regularly? No. Do we eat healthy every day? No. Are we non-smokers and non-drinkers? No. So what are we doing differently?

We smoke an assload of pot!!!

You connect the dots...

[Schmoe1]

Might as well throw my $.02 in.  I smoke almost every day, after work, and I got covid 2 weeks ago.  No idea which variant, but it felt like a bad cold.  Zero taste or smell for a solid week, and that was the worst part for me.

[Ninurta]

Might as well throw my $.02 in.  I smoke almost every day, after work, and I got covid 2 weeks ago.  No idea which variant, but it felt like a bad cold.  Zero taste or smell for a solid week, and that was the worst part for me.

The paper specified they were using concentrated extracts. You might just not be smoking stout enough spliffs... OR you might be smoking high THC, low CBD ganja... OR you might be more genetically predisposed to the 'rona than the average bear, and getting more protection than you realize.

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[senona]

Unfortunately, I am dumb to that stuff. 

My siblings on the other hand, are not. LOL

Margie no longer smokes it being as she works in a hospital environment and fears being randomly tested.


Now a days, I am more open to trying it but am uncertain about what brands can be trusted vs knock-off brands.


Our state decriminalized it last year it (not legalized)  

 I have in the past, done a little research when I was thinking about getting some for Jim when he was still at home with me. But I chickened out -- but now am wondering about it again.


Also as @"Kenzo" mentioned, the prices are somewhat high. 


So guess for now, I'll stick with my Crown Royal and Stella Rosa (Black)  wine    

[Ninurta]

Unfortunately, I am dumb to that stuff. 

My siblings on the other hand, are not. LOL

Margie no longer smokes it being as she works in a hospital environment and fears being randomly tested.


Now a days, I am more open to trying it but am uncertain about what brands can be trusted vs knock-off brands.


Our state decriminalized it last year it (not legalized)  

 I have in the past, done a little research when I was thinking about getting some for Jim when he was still at home with me. But I chickened out -- but now am wondering about it again.


Also as @"Kenzo" mentioned, the prices are somewhat high. 


So guess for now, I'll stick with my Crown Royal and Stella Rosa (Black)  wine    

I stopped for 40 years or so, partially due to random drug tests, partially due to a bad experience. Now that I'm looking at potential resumption, I find that it has all changed dramatically over the past 40 years. There are so many strains now that it's crazy, and none of them have logical names to clue you in as to what it is you are buying. Likewise, over the last 40 years, active ingredient content has risen dramatically due to selective breeding for stronger and stronger plants, to the point that I wonder just how wacked out I would get with, for example, 20 times the THC content of what used to be.

Part of the strength issue, I suspect, is in the rolling. Back in the day, I could roll a hell of a doobie. They looked just like store bough cigarettes - all straight and smooth, square-ended  and pretty, not lumpy and end-twisted like most - and were about the same size as a regular cigarette, just a little greener. Now, I think, what they roll up is what we would have called a "pin joint" back in the day. Bitty little skinny things.

I can produce my own at home, for my own consumption to insure it's purity, but that has pitfalls here too - I can legally grow up to 4 plants, but I can't legally buy seed to grow it from. So how are we supposed to grow it without seed? Furthermore, 4 plants may produce 4 to 12 pounds or so of weed, but I'm only legally allowed to possess up to 1 ounce. What to do with the rest? I can't legally sell it, and don't know enough people to give it away in 1 ounce packages. So why bother growing it at all? You can't grow a 1 ounce plant (well, you can - I did once, accidentally, and much to my chagrin), and how long might a single ounce last, anyhow?

So they "legalized' it here starting last 1 July, but due to the confusing and incomplete nature of the legislation, not really. They are "on a path" to initiate retail sales for recreational use by 2024, but until then everything is still in a legal limbo.

Virginia even has an odd law concerning "manufacturing marijuana", but it does not define what it means by "manufacturing". Does simple growing count? But growing up to 4 plants is legal, allegedly. So what, then? Is drying and curing it "manufacturing"? Or is it something else they are counting as "manufacturing marijuana"? The law is silent on that, so it's anyone's guess. Murky, ill-defined laws make me nervous. that's not how law is supposed to work. It leaves too much wiggle room for prosecutors to "misinterpret" what is there and throw your ass in the slam.

Just for reference, the current Virginia "legalization"  laws are as follows: 0-1 oz, no penalty. 1 ounce to 1 pound, 25 dollar civil fine. Over 1 pound, felony violation, prison time. It seems a little arbitrary.

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