News: Hemp Compounds Show Potential as Antiviral Agents Against COVID-19

Researchers from the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University found that hemp compounds have the ability to prevent the virus that causes COVID-19 from entering human cells. Now before you immediately grab your eye drops, throw on your Baja hoody and run down to the nearest dispensary, you should know that it’s not THC that has the beneficial effect. 

You can get the beneficial effect without getting stoned.  The cannabinoid acids in hemp, CBGA, and CBDA are the compounds that actually bind to the SARS-COV-2 spike protein and inhibit its ability to infect people.  This means that you can get the benefits from a CBD or hemp extract product as long as they have the CBGA and CBDA that attach to the spike protein and inhibit entry into the cell. No matter if you choose a CBD product or a marijuana product to get these benefits it’s certain to be more beneficial and less dangerous than ivermectin or whatever else Joe Rogan does in his free time.

So if I take CBD I’m Immune from COVID-19?

No!  You still run the risk of being infected even if you take CBD or a hemp extract with the necessary compounds. The researchers said that CGBA and CBDA most likely work best as a complement to vaccines. Additionally, these are early studies and have not been tested against all of the variants. OSU only ran tests with the alpha and beta variants. They have plans to test to see if they get similar results with the omicron variant as soon as they have more funding.

Is CBD a Treatment for COVID-19?

Also no! The researchers found that cannabinoids were better at preventing infection. The study did find that these hemp compounds were able to shorten the length of infection. The researchers are hopeful that they have the potential to prevent as well as treat COVID-19, but at the time of writing it is not considered a treatment. 

What is the difference between hemp and marijuana?

The main difference between hemp and marijuana is the psychoactive ingredient THC. Hemp has less than 0.3% THC. Hemp and hemp-derived products won’t get you high. Scientifically speaking hemp and marijuana are the same species of plant. The difference between hemp and marijuana is purely a legal differentiation. 

What does this have to do with printer ink?

We’re not surprised that you have to ask. When most people hear “ink supplier” they don’t picture a heroic figure with 6-pack abs in a cape swooping down to rid the world of COVID-19 with the power of hemp.  We’re more like Alfred the butler. We help CBD companies and all packaging companies print their best by dates. If anyone in this metaphor is Batman it’s them. Our customers are the ones that are manufacturing and delivering CBD products with the power to combat COVID 19, but hey we’re happy enough to bring the batmobile around to the front when the need arises. If you’re interested in learning more about our printing applications, you can find more information here.