Pot Users Had Better Covid-19 Outcomes

A little good news for all of us cannabis lovers! -

Study Finds Cannabis Users Had Better Covid-19 Outcomes
Study Finds Cannabis Users Had Better Covid-19 Outcomes

Cannabis users who contracted Covid-19 had better outcomes and reduced mortality compared to people who do not use marijuana, according to new research presented at a conference in Hawaii this week. A presentation on the study, which was conducted through a review of the medical records of more than 320,000 individuals, was delivered on Wednesday at the annual meeting of the American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST) in Honolulu.

“Marijuana smokers had better outcomes and mortality compared to non-users,” the authors of the study wrote in their conclusion. “The beneficial effect of marijuana use may be attributed to its potential to inhibit viral entry into cells and prevent the release of proinflammatory cytokines, thus mitigating cytokine release syndrome.”

To conduct the study, a team of researchers analyzed data on 322,214 patients from the National Inpatient Sample, a U.S. government database that tracks hospital use and outcomes. Patients who were under the age of 18 or who had information missing from the database were excluded from the study. Among the patients in the sample, 2,603 (less than 1%), said that they were cannabis users.

The patients in the sample were divided into two groups based on marijuana use. Data from the sample was then used “to match marijuana users to non-users 1:1 on age, race, gender, and 17 other comorbidities including chronic lung disease.”

When comparing cannabis users to non-users, the researchers determined that cannabis users “were younger and had higher prevalence of tobacco use.” Among the patients who did not use cannabis, “other comorbidities including obstructive sleep apnea, obesity, hypertension, and diabetes mellitus were more prevalent.” (snipped)

And this trend for better outcomes is supported by other recent studies.

Substance abuse and the risk of severe COVID-19: Mendelian randomization confirms the causal role of opioids but hints a negative causal effect for cannabinoids. (USA) (full - 2022) Substance abuse and the risk of severe COVID-19: Mendelian randomization confirms the causal role of opioids but hints a negative causal effect for cannabinoids

“we identified a negative causal relationship between cannabis abuse and COVID-19 hospitalization….. In line with our finding, a recent retrospective analysis of 1,831 COVID-19 inpatient admissions across two UCLA hospitals identified that, while controlling for age, body mass index (BMI), sex, race, tobacco smoking history, and SUD-associated comorbidities, active cannabinoid use is associated with shorter hospitalization, lower ICU admission, and less need for mechanical ventilation”.


Study Finds CBD Has Potential to Prevent COVID https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/study-finds-cbd-potential-prevent-180046538.html

“The team of 33 researchers surveyed 1,212 US patients who were taking oral CBD and found that they had fewer positive COVID tests compared to patients in the control group who were not taking CBD. The patients were taking prescribed 100 milligrams-per-milliliter oral doses of CBD to treat seizure-related conditions.” And also “After 48 hours, they found that "CBD inhibits the replication of genes required for the growth and spread of the virus throughout the body." They found the same results after conducting the tests using three COVID-19 variants”.

Granny