b'The (Cannabis) Story Continues IN THE QUESTfor preventative measures and treat- effectiveness in epilepsy, Mechoulam collaborated with ment of COVID-19, no stone is being left unturned.Brazilian researchers in a small trial and found that when That includes investigating cannabis, a plant that has a200-300 mg of CBD was added to the usual antiseizure fascinating history of medicinal applications, but its usemedications, epileptic patients had a dramatic reduc-is clouded by individuals who just want to get stoned. tion in seizures. Further research eventually led to the Cannabis plants were cultivated as early as 3000introduction of highly purified CBD extracted from can-B.C. in East Asia for fiber, but ancient Chinese textsnabis plants for treating Dravet Syndrome and Lennox-also mention psychoactive effects and medicinal usesGastaut syndrome, two types of childhood epilepsy.for conditions ranging from constipation to malaria.Epidiolex is the first drug approved in the United India also has a long history of using marijuana both asStates whose active ingredient CBD is extracted from JOE SCHWARCZ an intoxicant and a drug.the plant although synthetic THC under the name Director, McGillThe modern use of cannabis as medicine can beMarinol (dronabinol) has been available since 1985 University Office fortraced back to William Brooke OShaughnessy, a Britishfor boosting appetite in people undergoing chemo-Science and Society,physician who in 1833 landed a job with the East Indiatherapy. In the U.K., a specific extract of cannabis Montreal, QC, Canada. Company. He found widespread use of cannabis inwas approved in 2010 to treat neuropathic pain and India, but it was in a haphazard fashion. OShaughnessyspasticity in multiple sclerosis (MS). It is also approved decided that science should be infused into the use ofin Canada for treatment of MS symptoms as well as for cannabis and tried different doses of resin on arthritispain due to cancer. patients finding that they were relieved of pain. HisCannabis research is complicated by the discovery most impressive results, however, were with tetanus.that there are several types of cannabinoid receptors Cannabis was able to prevent the powerful spasmsin the body, with THC interacting with some and CBD that are characteristic of this bacterial infection.engaging others. OShaughnessys publication of his experimentsRecently researchers at the University of Lethbridge Cannabiswith cannabis in 1842 stimulated physicians to exploreexplored the use of Cannabis sativa extracts with a the drug further. Russell Reynolds, Queen Victoriashigh concentration of cannabidiol (CBD) to reduce the research isphysician, found that cannabis was effective in treatingchance of infection by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. It is well complicatedmigraine, epilepsy, spasm, convulsions as well as nerveknown that for the virus to invade a cell it first has to and muscle pain. By 1850, cannabis was listed in phar- attach to a receptor on the cells surface. That receptor by themacopoeias in Europe and the United States but fellis the angiotension-2 converting enzyme (ACE2) that out of favor because plant extracts were too variableis formed by instructions from genes in the cells DNA. discoveryin composition and furthermore could not be injectedExtracts of Cannabis sativa were found to down regu-that therewith the new-fangled hypodermic syringe. The nail inlate the expression of these genes, meaning that fewer the coffin was pounded in by the Marijuana Tax Act. receptor molecules are produced. are severalThat nail started to be pulled out in the 1940s whenThe researchers suggest that appropriate cannabis types ofAmerican chemists managed to isolate cannabidiolextracts could be used to formulate mouthwashes and (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) from plantgargles to reduce the risk of contracting COVID-19. But cannabinoidextract, making the study of these compounds pos- before we get too excited about this, lets point out sible. This was no small accomplishment given that thethat this study was carried out in the lab on isolated receptors incannabis plant contains over 400 compounds includ- cells, not in humans, and not even in animals. A cell the body . ing about 100 that have similar molecular structuresculture study like this is very far from a clinical trial and and are termed cannabinoids. The most famousall it means is that further trials are warranted, includ-of these is THC because of its potent psychoactiveing testing the safety of cannabis in patients infected effects. No such effect was found for CBD. with the coronavirus. And so, the fascinating story of Stimulated by historical anecdotes of marijuanascannabis continues.SW78/ SEEDWORLD.COMOCTOBER 2020'