Cannabis elements continue to outperform leading COVID-19 treatments
We had a good idea that a pandemic of some proportion would rock our worlds, as history shows that this tends to occur every hundred years or so, but now that it’s here, we’re finding that we are very ill-prepared for how to deal with it. COVID-19 is spreading like wildfire, with some countries faring better than others, but one thing has very quickly become clear and it’s that life as we knew it cannot continue until we find either a treatment for COVID-19 or a vaccine to reduce its effect on public health.
A push for vaccine development
The very first line of defense that we have against many contagious diseases is vaccines, as they prepare the body to defeat the illness all by itself without a need for harsh or risky treatments that could contribute to the overall decline of a patient's health. Vaccines are always working to protect us against things that once plagued human beings, and so the main focus has always been on vaccine development for COVID-19.
Unfortunately, vaccines can also take a long time to make and develop, as they must be tested for safety and then mass-produced, and since most experts have said that it could take 2 or more years to create a safe and effective vaccine for the virus, some the world’s leading experts have turned to methods of treatment for COVID-19 instead.
Clinical research into a treatment for COVID-19
The goal with treatment is to reduce the effects of the illness on a person after they’ve contracted the illness, and when one is effective, it can greatly increase a person's quality of life and chances of recovery. Since this is truly a novel virus which means that it’s brand new, we don’t yet know much about it, and that has sparked a flurry of experimental research using less conventional potential treatments such as cannabis.
The most influential cannabis elements
Researchers have been experimenting with cannabis as a treatment for a variety of illnesses, but this is the first time in history that it’s been so seriously looked at as an aid to combat a contagious virus, and the fantastic news is that it’s working. Researchers who are looking into treatment for COVID-19 are now learning that certain elements of cannabis can be more effective than any other option that’s been tried so far, but it doesn’t work in the way that you might think.
Smoking cannabis isn’t going to protect you from COVID-19, and it won’t work as a reliable treatment in most cases either, as it appears that the most effective elements are the terpenes and the THC. We also know that they are really only effective when taken in perfect combination with CBD through oral methods. This could mean taking a few drops of perfect infused oil under the tongue or consuming ideally dosed edibles, and now they are trying to perfect it in a way that shows consistent results for COVID-19 patients.
What this could mean for the future
Though vaccine development should still be our focus if we want to get ahead and defend ourselves against any potential future outbreak, cannabis could be the key that unlocks the body’s ability to defend itself from contagious viruses like COVID-19, and that is something to get excited about. If it works, it could be lower death rates, empty ICU units, and leave us with a less stressed healthcare system which is everything that we could ask for as the last line of defense against a potential second wave.
