With the recent appearance of the coronavirus, the last few years have been extremely difficult. Coronavirus causes some pretty serious flu-like symptoms that are fatal in many cases. It is indeed a very serious illness that has affected millions of people around the world. However, this doesn't mean that the world has come to a standstill, and many of us are still trying to live normal lives.
For many of us, this means consuming cannabis like we usually would. Some people use cannabis as an alternative to treat a variety of medical issues or to relieve symptoms. Many people also just use cannabis recreationally to relax and have a bit of fun.
That said, what happens when you get Covid? Can I take edibles if I have Covid? It's a question that many people have asked, and today we are here to answer it. We're going to provide you with all of the information that we have about taking edibles with COVID.
**Beware, Covid has only been around for a few years, so the research here is extremely limited. Taking cannabis edibles with COVID is such a new phenomenon that barely any research exists at all. Therefore, a lot of the information out there about the relationship between cannabis and Covid is based on very limited evidence, educated hypotheses, and anecdotal evidence from first-hand users.**
Cannabis and Covid: What We Know So Far
If we are being 100% honest, what we know so far about cannabis and COVID is extremely limited. Let's quickly go over a few key takeaways or bullet points about the most important pieces of information that we can relay to you about this topic.- Due to cannabis often being shared in group settings, it is likely to put cannabis users at a higher risk of becoming infected with the coronavirus. The sharing of joints and other smoking utensils may lead to a higher infection rate among cannabis users.
- It is thought that cannabis, particularly CBD, may have the ability to reduce cytokines being released in the body. What this means is that CBD may have the ability to reduce inflammation related to the coronavirus.
- CBD and THC are both thought to have some analgesic pain-killing effects, with CBD also having potential anti-inflammatory effects. Not only is CBD potentially able to relieve some of the inflammation associated with COVID, but both CBD and THC may also be able to relieve some of the pain and discomfort associated with COVID.
- It may be the case that previous damage caused to the lungs due to smoking cannabis may have detrimental effects on users when and if they do develop the coronavirus. The coronavirus causes inflammation in the lungs and often causes difficulty breathing. If a person's lungs are already damaged from smoking, it would stand to reason that the respiratory issues would only be compounded by the addition of the coronavirus.
- If both the coronavirus and smoking cannabis individually cause irritation and damage to the lungs, it would stand to reason that both together would cause even more severe respiratory issues. However, seeing as cannabis edibles do not affect the lungs, the results may be different, as we will discuss below.
- As well, people who are already suffering from lung inflammation and respiratory distress due to the coronavirus may see these symptoms worsen due to smoking or vaporizing cannabis, as both vaporizing and smoking cannabis are thought to irritate the lungs. CBD oil may also have the potential to reduce throat soreness.
- It is thought that cannabis may also have fever-reducing properties. Fever is a common symptom associated with the coronavirus, so there may be some potential benefits here.
Are There Potential Benefits to Taking Edibles with Covid?
There may very well be some potential benefits to taking edibles with COVID. However, once again, there is no 100% solid scientific evidence to back up any assumptions that have been made so far. More research is required on this front, so we are not making any medical claims whatsoever. If you do have the coronavirus, your best bet is to seek medical attention right away. That said, there is some speculation in terms of some potential benefits that you could reap from taking edibles when you have COVID, so let's take a quick look. One potential benefit is that CBD and THC are thought to have pain-relieving or analgesic properties. Coronavirus can be quite painful, so having cannabis for some pain relief would be a benefit. At the same time, it is also thought that CBD is an anti-inflammatory agent. Seeing as a big part of COVID is characterized as inflammation of the lungs, it would stand to reason that CBD as an anti-inflammatory might be able to relieve some lung inflammation. In other words, it may be able to help relieve some of that information to help make breathing a little bit easier and less painful. On that note, it is also thought that CBD can reduce the amount of cytokines that the body produces. During an extreme infection, a so-called cytokine storm may occur, which leads to increased inflammation and fever, and this can be potentially fatal. Therefore, if CBD has the ability to reduce inflammation on its own, and to reduce inflammation caused by cytokine storms, it would stand to reason that it can also help reduce potentially fatal fevers and other complications from COVID. However, at this time, this has not yet been confirmed. It is also thought that cannabis may have fever-reducing properties, which is important, as very high fevers caused by the coronavirus can be quite dangerous. Many people may also have trouble sleeping due to the severity of their symptoms, in which case both THC and CBD may be of assistance, as they are thought to be effective sleep aids. One of the biggest benefits is that CBD may have the ability to prevent Covid infection in the worst place, or at least to stop the infection from getting very severe. A study performed showed promise in terms of preventing the covid virus from taking hold and replicating in the lungs. In no way is CBD a replacement for vaccination, but early studies indicate it may be able to help reduce overall infection rates or to make infections less severe.What Are the Effects of Taking Edibles with Covid?
The effects of taking edibles with COVID are largely unknown and unconfirmed. Most of what we know are simple assumptions or anecdotal evidence. Remember, the coronavirus has only been around for a few years, so research on this front is extremely limited, if not just nonexistent. However, as discussed above, some of the potential benefits include that it might help to reduce some inflammation, therefore reducing difficulty breathing. It may also help to reduce fevers, reduce pain, reduce anxious thoughts, and make it easier to sleep. Here we are of course talking mainly about CBD edibles, not THC edibles. Here, we're not talking about the intoxication or psychoactive high that you will feel from THC during COVID. This is something that really hasn't been explored at all. The focus here is more on the potential medical benefits of CBD for COVID patients, as well as the medical benefits of THC. That said, how covid will affect your THC high, or how a THC high will affect covid, has not been explored in the least.Is it Safe to be Taking Edibles While Having Covid?
Whether or not it is 100% safe to take edibles when you have COVID is questionable. At this time, there does not appear to be any evidence that taking cannabis edibles when you have COVID poses a serious risk to you or is lethal. However, on the other hand, there's also no research to confirm the opposite. Seeing as the coronavirus affects your lungs, it would be safe to assume that taking edibles would at least be much safer than smoking or vaping. However, there just isn't enough research on either front to come to a solid conclusion. If you do have the coronavirus, your best bet is to seek medical attention first and ask your medical professional about this issue.What Are the Risks of Taking Edibles While Having Covid?
Just like the potential benefits of taking cannabis edibles with COVID are mostly unconfirmed and unresearched, the same is the case for the risks. Most of what we know here, or assume we should say, is based mostly on speculation. Yes, it is educated speculation from professional sources, but speculation nonetheless. Taking edibles with COVID may have some risks, so let's take a look.- It is thought that cannabis may be an immunosuppressant, which in simplest terms means that it suppresses your immune system from functioning properly. Of course, you need your immune system to fight off infections such as COVID. Therefore, if your immune system is suppressed or compromised, it would serve to reason that your body will have a decreased ability to fight off the coronavirus infection. Potentially being an immune-suppressing substance is why CBD may have the ability to reduce fever. However, this has not been confirmed.
- In some cases, cannabis edibles may have some relatively mild side effects, such as dizziness, headache, and gastrointestinal upset. In some cases, the coronavirus may also cause dizziness, headache, and other related symptoms. Therefore, there is the potential for the negative side effects of cannabis edibles to compound with the symptoms of coronavirus and make you feel even worse.
- THC might make anxiety worse in some cases. If you are already feeling anxious about having COVID, this would of course not be beneficial for your mental state.
