Scientists Claim 'Medicinal Cannabis' Could Help Fight COVID-19

Ever since scientists reportedly explored the deterrent effects of nicotine in preventing the coronavirus, potheads probably figured it was only a matter of time until somebody did the same for marijuana.

Now, a team of researchers in Calgary told a local TV station that their research into local strains of marijuana shows "promise."

The husband-and-wife team say they've been researching potential medicinal properties of marijuana for more than five years, but started to 'pivot' their research once the coronavirus came on the scene.

Olga and Igor Kovalchuk have been working with cannabis since 2015, using varieties from around the world to create new hybrids and develop extracts that demonstrate certain therapeutic properties.

"There’s a lot of documented information about cannabis in cancer, cannabis in inflammation, anxiety, obesity and what not," says Igor. "When COVID-19 started, Olga had the idea to revisit our data, and see if we can utilize it for COVID.

"It was like a joker card, you know, coronavirus. It just mixes up everybody’s plans," says Olga.

She says they started to examine the special proteins, or receptors, that the virus hijacks to enter the body, and they’ve now submitted a research paper studying the effects of medical cannabis on COVID-19.

"We were totally stunned at first, and then we were really happy," says Olga.

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