Could cannabis-based drugs against COPD also treat COVID-19 symptoms?

The coronavirus (COVID-19) is currently causing a worldwide stir. A Texas-based pharmaceutical company claims it has a cannabis extract that fights symptoms of the coronavirus.

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The new CBD-based drug fro pulmonary disease COPD

The new drug is a CBD extract RespRx, a resource of the Texan  Kali-Extracts company. This CBD-based drug in the making is being developed for symptoms of chronic pulmonary disease COPD and similar respiratory diseases.

A number of symptoms of the coronavirus also manifest themselves in the respiratory tract and lungs. Kali-Extracts found the similarities between COPD symptoms and corona and launched a press release in which the company stated that their drug also works against some of the symptoms of the novel coronavirus.

On its website, Kali-Extracts wrote that the cannabis-derived medicine in question has been in the making for years.

CBD extracts to relieve COPD symptoms

On the company’s website can also be read that the CBD extraction method used has already been discussed in the leading magazine Journal of Cannabis Research. According to the research, these extracts can relieve COPD symptoms thanks to their anti-inflammatory properties.

“In conjunction with the research already carried out and the next phase now beginning, the company has filed a new patent application specifically on the formulation of symptoms related to COPD and other similar respiratory diseases,” according to a statement by Kali-Extracts.

CBD in coronavirus

People infected with the new coronavirus can suffer from inflammatory reactions in the airways and lungs. Cannabis has anti-inflammatory properties. One could, therefore, speculate about a possible role of cannabis in the coronavirus.

The extract developed by Kali-Extracts is still in the experimental phase. ‘The results so far are only sufficient to stimulate further research into the effects of this cannabis oil extract on lung function,’ stated the Journal of Cannabis Research.

Several experts are therefore not impressed by this corona-cannabis treatment. Dr. Paola Cubillos, medical director of the Mississauga-based data company CB2Insights, shared the claimed on social media and said, “This is going too far.”

The truth about the effects of cannabis on viruses

Does medical cannabis do anything to a virus at all?  Active ingredients in cannabis do have antibacterial properties, so scientists are researching cannabis as a new antibiotic. This is desperately needed because certain harmful bacteria are rapidly becoming resistant to current antibiotics.

Viruses are much smaller than bacteria. People know viruses cause flues and colds, but stomach flu or cold sores are also caused by a viral infection. The influenza virus – or flu – is a contagious virus that mainly occurs during the winter period. Symptoms of the flu virus include colds, headaches, muscle aches, and fevers. For vulnerable patients in a hospital, the flu can be extra dangerous.

The coronavirus (COVID-19) is a variant of the ‘normal’ influenza virus. The spread of the virus is closely monitored because it is new and little is known about it. What people do know is that cannabis is not capable of fighting a viral infection. However, certain properties can soften flu symptoms. Whether this also applies to the coronavirus cannot yet be said. This simply requires more research.

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(Featured image by CDC via Unsplash)

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