Scientists believe cannabis could help treat coronavirus

Ottawa: They have high hopes for a coronavirus breakthrough. A team of Canadian scientists believes it has found strong strains of cannabis that could help prevent and then treat coronavirus infections, according to interviews and a study.

Researchers from the University of Lethbridge said that a study in April showed at least 13 cannabis plants high in CBD that appeared to affect the ACE2 pathways that the bug uses to access the body.

“We were totally stunned at first, and then we were really happy,” one of the researchers, Olga Kovalchuk, told CTV News.

The results, printed in online journal Preprints, indicated hemp extracts high in CBD may help block proteins that provide a “gateway” for COVID-19 to enter host cells.