MSU researcher working on cannabis based COVID drug
The Lansing State Journal reports that a MSU researcher is working on a method to use parts of the marijuana plant in treating one of COVID-19’s deadly symptoms:
The immune system responds when exposed to COVID-19, but sometimes so aggressively it affects lung function and makes it harder to breathe. That’s where a new drug containing cannabinoids, a family of compounds contained in the marijuana plant, comes in.
Norbert Kaminski, a Michigan State University professor of pharmacology and toxicology, is working with GB Sciences, a biopharmaceutical company, to develop a drug that prevents the lung inflammation that some experience after contracting COVID-19 that can lead to trouble breathing and death.
“These compounds being tested, we’re looking for which ones can decrease that strong immune response,” Kaminski said.
…The drug GB Sciences and Kaminski are working to develop would limit the immune system’s response and suppress the lung inflammation, Small-Howard said, without preventing the immune system from fighting the virus.
They are still searching for the right cannabinoid mixture that would make the drug work. They’ve identified potential mixtures that Kaminski will test at his lab in the MSU Food Safety and Toxicology Building.
photo credit: Cannabis Sativa by Swallowtail Garden Seeds
