Coronavirus and Cannabis

The question being asked today is this: Is cannabis helpful or harmful in this coronavirus pandemic circumstance? The answer is, no one knows. We are at a disadvantage because of both the lack of research on the coronavirus and the long, sad history of the federal government systematically blocking research on cannabis. We must mainly rely on common knowledge, conventional wisdom, common sense, as well as any lessons that may come from looking at previous epidemics and pandemics in the twentieth century.

We are navigating uncharted waters when it comes to cannabis and COVID-19, but this is not the first time we have had a viral pandemic with the ready availability of cannabis. Cannabis was also widely available at the time of the 1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic. At that time doctors wrote two to three million cannabis-containing prescriptions per year, and there were over 25 cannabis-containing patented medicines which were available over the counter. Evidence that this did not cause alarm amongst organized medicine is demonstrated by the American Medical Association (AMA) testimony to the House Ways and Means Committee  by the AMA Chief Legal Counsel, Dr. William C. Woodward, a doctor, attorney, and past president of the American Public Health Association, against the 1937 Marijuana Tax Act. He testified that “the AMA knows of no dangers from the medicinal use of cannabis.”

Respiratory vs Oral Route

The coronavirus has airborne transmission and specifically affects the respiratory system, therefore we need to keep our respiratory systems as healthy as possible. In this regard, cannabis provides some pluses and minuses.