Compounds in Marijuana Preventing COVID-19 Infection

Can cannabis help fight COVID-19?

Certain compounds found in marijuana prevented the COVID-19 virus from penetrating human cells, according to a laboratory study published this week, in the Journal of Nature Products. The researchers found that two compounds found in hemp – cannabigerolic acid and cannabidiolic, labelled CBGA and CBDA respectively, bind to the SARS-CoV-2 spike, blocking the deadly virus from infecting people.

The study was led by Richard van Breemen – a researcher with Oregon State’s Global Hemp Innovation Center in the College of Pharmacy and Linus Pauling Institute, in collaboration with scientists at the Oregon Health & Science University. 

In a statement, Van Breeman said “These compounds are common and readily available and can be taken orally and have a long history of safe use in humans.” He also noted that resistant variants of the virus could still emerge amid the widespread use of cannabinoids but the combination of vaccines and CBDA and CBGA treatment could make it even more difficult for the virus to infect people.

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