According to Dr. David B Allen, a retired Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgeon, and medical director at Cannabis Sativa Inc, we may be able to protect ourselves from the Ebola virus using cannabis. While claims like this come forward, others suggest we may not be hearing the full story when it comes to Ebola.
Can Cannabinoids Work?
(Keep in mind we are not talking about smoking it. Cannabis and its healing properties are best absorbed through juicing or eating)
Cannabinoids may be one of the best disease fighting treatments out there. Cannabinoids refer to any of a group of related compounds that include cannabinol and the active constituents of cannabis. They activate cannabinoid receptors in the body. The body itself produces compounds called endocannabinoids and they play a role in many processes within the body that help to create a healthy environment.
This fact has led a couple of doctors to suggest that in turn cannabinoids can provide sufficient protection from viral infections.
According to Dr. David B Allen:
“There is good scientific evidence that cannabinoids, and in particular Cannabidiol (CBD), may offer control of the immune system and in turn provide protection from viral infections (4). Cannabis has already been recognized to inhibit fungus and bacteria and can be considered a new class of antimicrobial because of the different mechanism of action from other antimicrobials.
Ebola is a complex RNA viral organism that causes the cell to engulf it by pinocytosis, and then the virus hijacks the cell to replicate itself. This replication can involve many mutations in the RNA code that make it difficult to impossible to create an effective vaccine. There are U.S. Patents showing evidence that Cannabinoids have significant anti-viral activity. ” (source)
How It May Work
He states how the Ebola virus causes the cell to produce proteins that hide the virus from the immune system, which allows the RNA virus to hide the infected cell by shielding it from view from the immune system.
He adds that the cause of death by this virus is the body’s own immune response to the actual viral infection itself by triggering the immune killer cells to release the cytokines they hold, which is termed a “Cytokine Storm.”
A cytokine storm forces the body into a toxic shock state, and causes small blood clots to form in all arterioles, which is called Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation (DIC).
Since cannabinoids have been shown to prevent Toxic Shock as well as DIC, they could be a viable solution. Of course more testing and research would need to be done on this. Luckily something like cannabis, especially when eaten raw, does not have dangerous side effects and therefore could help in areas where Ebola is actually spreading.
To read his full article that goes into more detail and includes sources, you can click HERE.
