Who are the Weed Nuns? 'Sisters of the Valley' rejoice after 'study' says pot can prevent Covid-19
A group of self-ordained "weed nuns" are celebrating the findings of a new study that suggests cannabis may be effective in preventing Covid-19 infections.
The 'Sisters of the Valley', based in Northern California's Merced County, grow and harvest the herb to create holistic medicinal products. Sister Kate, the founder of the non-religious feminist sect, touted the results of the study carried out by Oregon State University, saying the field of science was finally "catching up" to ancient teachings. "We are, naturally, pleased that science is catching up with ancient wisdom," she told The Sun. "It's wonderful progress to have the scientific community say 'we're already determined that there are compounds in hemp that can prevent infection', so now, we can just get on to studying dosage." She added, "That's progress. Seems like Covid has helped end the debate."
RELATED ARTICLES
Sister Kate was citing a study published in the Journal of Natural Products earlier this week by scientists at OSU. According to the peer-reviewed study, two acidic compounds found in hemp can prevent Covid-19 infection by blocking the pathogen's entry into human cells. The compounds -- namely cannabigerolic acid (CBGA) and cannabidiolic acid (CBDA) -- are said to bind to the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19. The compounds are able to prevent the virus from causing infection by binding to the spike protein, thereby opening up new potential avenues to prevent and treat the deadly disease.
"These cannabinoid acids are abundant in hemp and in many hemp extracts," Dr Richard van Breemen, a researcher with Oregon State’s Global Hemp Innovation Center who was the lead author of the study, said in a statement. "They are not controlled substances like THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, and have a good safety profile in humans." van Breemen was optimistic after the study suggested that CBDA and CBGA could be developed into drugs to prevent or treat coronavirus. “These compounds can be taken orally and have a long history of safe use in humans,” van Breemen explained. “They have the potential to prevent as well as treat infection by SARS-CoV-2. CBDA and CBGA are produced by the hemp plant as precursors to CBD and CBG, which are familiar to many consumers. However, they are different from the acids and are not contained in hemp products.”
The research also highlighted how cannabinoids appeared to work effectively against new variants of the virus. "These variants are well known for evading antibodies against early lineage SARS-CoV-2, which is obviously concerning given that current vaccination strategies rely on the early lineage spike protein as an antigen," van Breeman continued. "Our data shows CBDA and CBGA are effective against the two variants we looked at, and we hope that trend will extend to other existing and future variants. Resistant variants could still arise amid widespread use of cannabinoids but the combination of vaccination and CBDA/CBGA treatment should make for a much more challenging environment for SARS-CoV-2," he added.
Sister Kate, who has been preaching the healing powers of marijuana and CBD for years, rejoiced at van Breemen's endorsement of the drug's efficacy against Covid-19 infections. Her California-based sect grows and harvests cannabis to produce medicinal products such as cannabidiol (CBD) salves, tinctures, balms, and soaps which they sell online. According to The Sun, the group uses a strain of marijuana that eliminates the psychoactive compound THC but retains CBD, which is known to help treat various ailments from epilepsy to addiction.
Sister Kate, whose real name is Christine Meeusen, reportedly started the business with just 12 plants. She has since grown the organization into an international franchise and turned profits of more than $1.1million. Speaking to the daily, Sister Kate previously said the group is not affiliated with the Catholic Church in any way. "We do things that are spiritual but none of us are associated with any religion specifically," she explained. "Religions sell words but we want to do much more than that." According to her, the Sisters of the Valley are working towards bringing back spiritual practices that "put Mother Earth at the center of everything." She added, "So we created something that is nonreligious, but it's spiritual – and it's very eco-feminist in nature."