phoenixnewtimes.com PHOENIX NEW TIMES JAN 27TH– FEB 2ND, 2022 State Licensed Dispensaries & Doctor Certifications | CANNABIS | COVID from p 43 ment of seizures associated with two rare and severe forms of epilepsy, Lennox- Gastaut syndrome, and Dravet syndrome. Commercial compounds that you can find in the form of gummies, oils, or sup- plements vary heavily in quality and have a much lower percentage of CBD. There are still a lot of unknowns about the health benefits of CBD and its effec- tiveness in preventing COVID-19, Rosner said, because it has yet to be studied in hu- mans. But some signs hint it may be success- ful. One analysis included 1,212 people from the National COVID Cohort Collab- orative who took Epidiolex. Those who took the CBD medication tested positive for COVID-19 at much lower rates com- pared to others who did not consistently take the drug. “It’s promising. It has potential. But we really need a clinical trial,’” Rosner said. CBD has the potential to prevent infec- tion, similar to the COVID-19 vaccine, but the medication would work in different ways. The mRNA vaccine, which includes those developed by Moderna Inc. and Pfizer Inc., prevents infection by creating proteins that mimic the virus to trigger the immune response, which produces anti- bodies. Those antibodies then coat the SARS-CoV-2 virus and block it from infect- ing cells. “I would argue that’s much more effec- tive than any of the CBD-related products that we could have that might have an ef- fect,” Rosner said. CBD takes advantage of the body’s natu- ral immune response using the interferon signaling pathway. Interferons are a group of proteins that signal infection when the body is exposed to pathogens, such as COVID-19. “The in- terferon signaling pathway comes back and acts to break down the virus and basi- cally cause it to go away — if you’re lucky,” Rosner said. While Rosner is hopeful the lab-rat test results are true for humans, and CBD can actually prevent infection, it still shouldn’t be seen as a substitute for the vaccine. “I would view CBD as an extra protec- tion to vaccines” if successful in clinical tri- als, Rosner said. “Something we can take to avoid general kinds of infections.” Rosner and her University of Chicago colleagues were not the first to experiment with cannabis compounds and SARS- CoV-2, but they were the first to test in mammals. “There is just so much to uncover be- fore any human translatability is suggested, including underscoring the importance of understanding the safety of ingesting these cannabinoids at different amounts with varying routes of administration,” she said. A study conducted by researchers at two Oregon universities — titled “Cannabi- noids Block Cellular Entry of SARS-CoV-2 and the Emerging Variants” — made waves when it was published on January 10. Re- searchers found CBGA, CBDA, and THCA — three canabis compounds — blocked the virus from entering and infecting the cell. “There are a number of compounds that work in cell culture, but they don’t work in animals,” Rosner said. “So you have to do it under physiological conditions.” In this case, those physiological condi- tions required a much smaller dosage of the tested compound. “What we found in our study is that the compounds CBGA, CDBA, even THC … had no effect at blocking the virus at the doses that we were using,” Rosner said. “You need to get it into the body at a level that it will be effective in the cells in your body. And it turns out that all of these com- pounds are not very soluble in water, so they get broken down in the liver. So it’s re- ally hard to get high levels of the com- pound in your blood.” Marcel Bonn-Miller, a researcher who has focused on cannabis at the University of Pennsylvania and is vice president of hu- man and animal research at Canopy Growth Corporation, also noted “the dan- gers of jumping to conclusions from early research.” “Studies conducted in Petri dishes may have direct implications for the use of CBDA and/or CBGA via oral administra- tion in humans to prevent or treat COVID-19 infection, although more re- search should be conducted before we ac- cept that conclusion or apply the findings more broadly,” Bonn-Miller said in an email regarding the Oregon study. Richard van Breemen, the author of the study and professor of medicinal chemis- try at Oregon State University, said in an email he was “pleased” the Chicago re- search “found that CBD can inhibit SARS- CoV-2 replication after cell entry” and agreed that clinical trials testing the effi- cacy of cannabis compounds, are neces- sary. Rosner, a cancer biologist who pivoted to COVID-19 research as soon as it emerged, said she understands the excite- ment because “it’s something that is acces- sible and genuinely not toxic.” Until a clinical trial can confirm CBD’s efficacy in humans, she said there’s no rea- son to rush to buy CBD products. 45
