WHO would have thought that the most misunderstood of all plants would turn out to have the most potential in fighting this COVID-19 scourge now affecting the whole world and killing people by the millions. In fact, it could possibly be the “miracle cure” that has been eluding medical researchers and scientists.
I am not surprised as this plant has been since ancient times used and identified by our ancestors as a medicinal plant. It was only after the alcohol prohibition period in the United States of America when some racist and stupid government official made this medicinal plant the next “illegal substance” after the ban on alcohol was lifted.
No, it’s not “alugbate” or “LGBT” with vowels, although we’re not discounting the healthy properties of “LGBT”, or if you prefer with vowels added, “alugbate”; it is not in the COVID-19 fighting levels of this extraordinary and most misunderstood plant.
We are of course talking about cannabis sativa or more popularly known as marijuana. But first, some stray semantic memories – or if you prefer, random thoughts – that are always meant to make one think and never to convince.
In view of the Angel Locsin “birthday pantry” fiasco, it has come to light that the “poor” and “hungry” in the Philippines are overweight, have smart phones, dyed-hair (usually blond), and wear imported flip flops.
Probably the most useless and most expensive part of government is the Senate. In the midst of a pandemic, the senators allotted P8.9 billion to construct a luxurious Senate building which will only benefit just the 24 senators. The money could be used to buy rice to feed the so-called poor and hungry so no one will die in potential COVID-19 superspreader events, i.e. Angel Locsin’s “birthday pantry”.
And some senators, particularly Sen. Franklin Drilon, are threatening to defund the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict or NTF-ELCAC, a program benefiting cultural minorities and poor communities and specifically to end the more than 50 years of insurgency simply because their feathers were ruffled, their bloated egos bruised.
Meanwhile, we segue to something that would give us hope in science and not in some obsolete nonsense fed to us by ignorant politicians:
Excerpts from a March 14, 2021 article on www.news-medical.net/new:
Cannabis compound inhibits SARS-CoV-2 replication in human lung cells
Researchers in the United States have conducted a study showing that a cannabis plant compound inhibited infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in human lung cells.
SARS-CoV-2 is the agent responsible for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic that continues to sweep the globe posing a threat to global public health and the worldwide economy.
Marsha Rosner from the University of Chicago in Illinois and colleagues found that cannabidiol (CBD) and its metabolite 7-OH-CBD potently blocked SARS-CoV-2 replication in lung epithelial cells.
The CBD inhibited viral gene expression and reversed many of the effects the virus has on host gene transcription.
The compound also induced the expression of interferons – cell signaling proteins that are produced by host cells as an early response to viral invasion.
Furthermore, the incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection was up to an order of magnitude lower in a cohort of patients who had been taking CBD, compared with matched patients who had not been taking CBD.
“This study highlights CBD, and its active metabolite, 7-OH-CBD, as potential preventative agents and therapeutic treatments for SARS-CoV-2 at early stages of infection,” says Rosner and the team.
Indeed, cannabis has tremendous potential to be the “cure”. Would it not be great if they develop a way to ingest the cannabis medicine by smoking it as one would do to a regular marijuana joint including the high that goes with it?
Think about it. Some people at this time are still skeptical about the vaccines but with cannabis as the “cure”, all you have to do is smoke and inhale it and get high along the way.
People will line up to get this kind of “cure”. (brotherlouie16@gmail.com)/PN
