Treatment of HIV with cannabinoids

  • Studies Show Hope for Medical Cannabis as a Potential HIV Treatment
  • Colorado Company Cannabis Science is Actively Developing and Testing New cannabinoid Medications
  • Current HIV Treatment Forms are Significantly Insufficient and Have Numerous Negative Side Effects

The current HIV treatment using antiretroviral therapy can only suppress the HIV virus. Complete cure is not even being discussed. The HIV virus has extensive consequences for the human body - its copies penetrate absolutely all body parts, including bone marrow. Moreover, antiretroviral therapy has no effect on HIV in the brain, causing cognitive disorders in some patients during later disease stages.

Dangerous HIV Treatment

Doctors still struggle with HIV and are trying various chemical cocktails - including the currently used medication containing highly hallucinogenic substance, Efavirenz. It seems it's time to find a better and more effective solution.

Certain hope for finding a therapeutic approach that could reach areas inaccessible to antiretrovirals lies in medical cannabis. This hope is currently actively pursued by a scientific society from Colorado, Cannabis Science, which recently joined forces with IGXBio Inc. and expanded to California. Their collaboration focuses on developing an HIV drug based on a cannabinoid basis.

The gradual breakdown of the immune system caused by HIV can be dramatically slowed with today's medications. However, the problem is numerous negative side effects, such as bone mass loss, chronic diarrhea, or cognitive function disorders. Moreover, these medications are sold at literally hellish prices, hundreds of times higher than their production cost. Patients simply have no choice and must invest in these disgustingly overpriced chemicals to prevent their immune system's breakdown.

léčba HIV konopím

Cannabinoids Against HIV

Medications developed by Cannabis Science contain a mix of cannabinoids capable of fighting both Kaposi's Sarcoma and HIV forms resistant to all current medications. Current HIV drugs work similarly to antibiotics - if you start taking them and suddenly stop, they will no longer work, and HIV will transition to a resistant form that will be drug-resistant even when transferred to another person.

IGXBio developed a federally recognized research medication (IND - Investigational New Drug) called GenePro. GenePro is a vaccine based on monkey and human DNA, with both DNA parts carrying both SIV (monkey version of HIV) and HIV. As a result, the vaccine works in the body by releasing proteins through electroporation, which prevents HIV replication. Cannabis Science firmly believes that by adding the right combination of cannabinoids to this vaccine, it could potentially be a breakthrough HIV treatment.

Dr. Allen Herman, chief medical officer of Cannabis Science describes: "We firmly believe that GenePro combined with our cannabinoid application development will be a major pharmaceutical success. The entire program is currently in progress, and we will report results as we go."

Desperate Need for New Treatment

HIV patients are currently in a situation where they desperately need a new, better treatment option. Taking antiretrovirals like Efavirenz is borderline tolerable for many. Most patients using this medication experience truly bizarre daily dreams. Additionally, some of them directly experience hallucinations. The National Library of Medicine of the United States itself admits that Efavirenz has hallucination properties similar to LSD. The situation has gone so far that this medication has reached the street, where drug users crush it into powder and smoke it to achieve its psychoactive effects.

"If doctors can prescribe a medication with properties similar to LSD, shouldn't they be allowed to prescribe medical cannabis?"

Currently, study after study is revealing results confirming the potential of medical cannabis and its use against the HIV virus. According to preliminary reports, medical cannabis can help patients with neuropathic pain, inflammation, and virus spread. Current studies are primarily conducted on monkeys. Researchers describe the following:

"THC administration generally acts as a viral spread suppressor, while reducing inflammatory reactions."

Current available data is just the tip of the iceberg, and there is a great need for further, thorough research. HIV therapy using medications based on natural cannabinoids already appears highly promising.

Author: Benjamin M. Adams

Translation: Filip Maral

Source: cannabisnow.com

Images: moderncanna worldaidsday

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