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Cannabinoids Block Cellular Entry of SARS-CoV-2 and the Emerging Variants

pubs.acs.org

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Re: Cannabinoids Block Cellular Entry of SARS-CoV-2 and the Emerging Variants

#91
post #85
post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As your article mentions, decarboxylation is a required step for cannabis extracts to have any psychoactive effects. So, presumably commercially marketed edibles are decarboxylated.

I've always been a little fuzzy on this and would love for someone else to chime in. It's my understanding that raw marijuana contains both psychoactive cannabinoids as well as precursors which require decarboxylation. If that's the case, I am not sure that decarboxylation is _required_ - however it is recommended as it increases the _amount_ of bioavailable cannabinoids (i.e. best bang for your buck.)

It's unlikely for cannabinoids other than THC to bind to the CB1 receptor strong enough to cause the psychoactive effect.

Only THC binds very well to the CB1 receptor. THCA does not bind well to either receptor.

Cannabinoids that bind to CB2 receptors in the immune and gastrointestinal systems affect inflammatory and immune responses.

Re: Cannabinoids Block Cellular Entry of SARS-CoV-2 and the Emerging Variants

#92

This reminds me of William S Burrough’s “Cities of the Red Night,” in which a deadly plague appears suddenly. The character Dr. Pierson is a heroin addict, and helps discover that heroin is prophylactic against the fever: “A top government official bluntly warned: ‘Virus B-23 now loose in our overcrowded cities, is an agent that produces biologic changes in those affected – fatal in many cases, permanent and heredita…

Similarly, Fiend by Stenson. Meth prevents zombification but introduces plenty of other disfunction.

Re: Cannabinoids Block Cellular Entry of SARS-CoV-2 and the Emerging Variants

#93
post #82
post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tinctures are an option too. And a lot of edibles like chocolates and gummies wouldn't hit decarboxylation temp. https://wayofleaf.com/education/decarboxylation

As your article mentions, decarboxylation is a required step for cannabis extracts to have any psychoactive effects. So, presumably commercially marketed edibles are decarboxylated.

Something that was confusing to me while reading the paper was that there were other compounds they talked about having high potential, but didn't actually test, such as THC-A. Am I misunderstanding this part of the paper?

Re: Cannabinoids Block Cellular Entry of SARS-CoV-2 and the Emerging Variants

#95
post #42

It's important to note that the chemicals they tested with were the cannabinoid acids (CBDA, THCA). When smoking or cooking those acids are converted via decarboxylation. These final chemicals were not part of this study. In other words, this study only tested people eating raw uncooked cannabis. It does not tell you much about whether any benefits will be provided to your average smoker.

I am explicitly not recommending that anybody try cannabis for COVID although I don't think it will place you at significantly greater risk (I doubt there is enough high quality evidence to show that cannabis consumers are at high risk of respiratory problems associated with covid).

That said, a standard e-nail vaping rig comes with a temperature controller that is very accurate and precise (degree resolution, 10 degree accuracy according to my tests). In pratice you could get high purity THCA (99.9% THCA), set your vape slightly below 220F, and inhale the generated steam.

I have a background in biochemistry and did a fair amount of research into cannabis chemistry and it's pretty amazing how underutilized cannabinoids are.

Re: Cannabinoids Block Cellular Entry of SARS-CoV-2 and the Emerging Variants

#96
post #24
post #13

Too many "promising" studies like cannabis, vitamin D, chloroquine, ivermectin, etc have been later fact-checked by the CDC as bad science, to rely on anything but the CDC's word (or Fauci). Until the CDC says so I won't believe it. Right now it seems like mass vaccination is our only way out of this pandemic and back to normal.

>Until the CDC says so I won't believe it. I lost that urge after the 'masks are only useful for medical workers' kerfuffle. now, you can explain to me how I lost something in translation, how they didn't mean exactly that , and that I am misinterpreting history -- but then I would counter with 'One of the primary jobs of the CDC is to translate medical advice into something easily consumable for the citizenry they s…

The CDC says whatever they think is most likely to influence the public to do the whatever they think is best for public health in general.

Whether or not what they say is the truth is entirely incidental.

Re: Cannabinoids Block Cellular Entry of SARS-CoV-2 and the Emerging Variants

#97

Totally anecdotal but my girlfriend and I recently went to wedding and even with pre testing and everyone vaccinated, a lot of people got Covid. I was super high that night (as most nights) and walked away unscathed. Obviously this could be due to a lot of things but that hasn’t stopped me from rubbing it in all my friends faces. It’s been of the few times in my life where my weed habit looks smart, and I’m loving ev…

How does THC intoxication change social behaviors? Are you more or less social? Personally I doubt it was a direct pharmacological effect, but rather a secondary behavioral effect

If you're going to copypaste a statement saying you doubt it had a direct pharmacological effect on a post about a direct pharmacological effect, why not state what you think the issue with the study was?

Re: Cannabinoids Block Cellular Entry of SARS-CoV-2 and the Emerging Variants

#98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've noticed a correlation between heavy herb smokers and not getting the virus or having mild symptoms. People that primarily do hash haven't had the same benefit, which is kind of weird. This is all anecdotal.

How does THC intoxication change social behaviors? Are you more or less social? Personally I doubt it was a direct pharmacological effect, but rather a secondary behavioral effect

I'm a long-time THC consumer. The effects differ tremendously based on a wide range of variables. I've also retrained myself after many years to override my natural THC behaviors.

Let me give some examples. College days, my first real year of smoking, I got really high. I mean, really really high. Close to a psychedelic experience. I went to the cafe to get an ice cream sundae and when I walked in, everybody in the entire room stared at me. Or, it felt like it. 30 people making eye contact looking at me AND THEY KNOW I'M HIGH. It was extremely uncomfortable- for my entire life growing up, I hadn't really ever made eye contact with people and having a lot of it was intense.

A few years later, I get really high at a Grateful Dead show. Completely different experience- everybody was getting high and having a great time with strangers and I didn't feel judged and it was GREAT, socially speaking.

Following college I began my professional career, but I am also a full time smoker, so I had to learn how to deal with the "OH GOD THEY KNOW" feelings and forced myself to be highly social at parties, etc. It can be really weird to be a person who is very introverted and wants nothing more to curl up in a ball far from people, but walk around a party introducing yourself to everybody and making intelligent conversation.

Im interested in the psychopharmacology of cannabis and why so many people get the paranoia effect. I suspect it's probably a side effect of tweaking your endogenous cannabinoid system, in combination with the social pressures associated with cannabis consumption.

Re: Cannabinoids Block Cellular Entry of SARS-CoV-2 and the Emerging Variants

#99
post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Has there been any such replication of the "natural immunity protection is equal or greater to vaccine protection" study(s) yet?

As a lay-person and not an epidemiologist, what logic is there for the idea that mRNA treatments that synthesize a single protein could be better than an actual infection which produces hundreds of those proteins per replication along with dozens or more proteins that may be used by the immune system to identify the virus? Traditional vaccines at least dump most of the target viral proteins into the body. Focusing on…

> just about the idea that recovered individuals would be less protected than a vaccinated individual on average.

I don't think its so much about the idealized immune response, but that in general, people's immune response to natural infection seems to widely vary, with many not having much of a robust response.

It very well may be that a good immune response to natural infection may be better than one from an mRNA vaccine targeting the spike protein - but in aggregate the vaccine will be more successful because its induces a more consistent response.

Re: Cannabinoids Block Cellular Entry of SARS-CoV-2 and the Emerging Variants

#100
The IC50(reported as 24 μg/mL for CBDA against wild type in the live virus assay or 76 μM in more typical units) is far too high to have a relevant effect, you would probably have to use infeasibly large amounts of hemp products (orders of magnitude higher ones). I would not count on cannabinoids to help with preventing or treating sars-cov-2 infections. I expect some pushback against this result in a few days.
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