By A.J. Herrington, Forbes

 Contributor.  A.J. Herrington is freelance writer covering weed news and culture.

Compounds in cannabis have the potential to prevent and treat Covid-19, according to a review of research published last month. The study found that cannabis compounds known as cannabinoids could prevent infection by SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, as well as lessen the severity of the disease after it has been contracted.

“Cannabinoids have the potential to be used as a preventive approach to limiting the susceptibility and severity of COVID-19 infections by preventing viral entry, mitigating oxidative stress, and alleviating the associated cytokine storm,” the authors of the study wrote.

The study, which was reported by cannabis new source Marijuana Moment on Wednesday, was conducted by researchers at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia, Canada, who conducted a thorough review of the available scientific literature. The research focused on numerous prior studies that investigated how endocannabinoid system (ECS) modulation might affect patients in the early and post-infection stages of Covid-19.

Previous research has shown that cannabis might affect Covid-19, including a laboratory study published in 2022 that showed cannabinoids prevented infection of human cells by SARS-CoV-2. A separate study published in October found that cannabis users who contracted Covid-19 had better outcomes and reduced mortality compared with non-cannabis users.

Cannabis Might Help Patients With Long-Covid

The new study also found that cannabinoids could one day be used to treat patients with long Covid, a group of persistent health problems that can last for weeks, months or years following a bout with Covid-19.