Cannabis-based antibiotics could be prescribed on the NHS within five years. If this happens, “hundreds of thousands” of lives worldwide would be saved. At least, that’s what a leading neurologist reportedly stated, according to our source (see end of article). Indeed, presented this way, the information is likely to generate excitement. We want to clarify from the outset that the content of this article does not refer to the European context. Therefore, our readers should take it as such. With that clarification, let’s explore this news together. Understanding the context and the need Indeed, the first question many people ask upon reading this is: what could be the point of manufacturing cannabis-based antibiotics? After all, there are already plenty of them in pharmacies. The reason is simple: it’s to address a specific need. In fact, the problem of antibiotic resistance is described by the WHO as “one of the greatest threats to global health, food security, and development today.” In this regard, such infections cause more than 35,000 deaths each year in the United States alone. Furthermore, the UN warns that this annual death toll could reach 10 million worldwide if no solution is found. This is why researchers are interested in the possibility of producing cannabis-based antibiotics.
Scientists are focusing on CBD. In fact, it all started with the hypothesis of a renowned neurologist. He reportedly stated that CBD could effectively combat superbugs, which are resistant to currently available antibiotics. This is why cannabis is attracting particular interest, to see if it could provide a solution that would reduce the aforementioned figures. From this perspective, in January, research from the University of Queensland, published in the journal Communications Biology, revealed that CBD—the main non-psychoactive component of cannabis—is capable of killing the bacteria responsible for “super gonorrhea,” meningitis, and Legionnaires’ disease. It also appears to have “a low tendency to induce resistance in bacteria.” Therefore, cannabidiol antibiotics could be a solution to this problem.
However, some challenges remain in achieving this. Specifically, the following: because of the way CBD binds to blood plasma, it has only proven effective as a topical treatment and not when injected into the bloodstream. Therefore, scientists must first find a way to overcome this obstacle before it can be synthesized into a pill that can truly combat infections at a systemic level.
Despite this, experts remain optimistic and maintain that this solution could be developed quickly and would greatly benefit patients who need it. This is the case for Professor Mike Barnes – a medical cannabis expert who successfully campaigned to make Sativex available to people with multiple sclerosis (MS) in the UK. He told The Metro:
“I think we’re looking at five years or more; a pessimist might say 10 years. I think that’s too long considering the sheer amount of research happening right now.
I think it’s potentially very exciting, and it’s yet another thing cannabis does, so we should embrace cannabis as a medicine because it does so many different things. There are lives saved, but perhaps more importantly, there are more people who could be less debilitated.”
Our source: Indy 100.
References
https://www.indy100.com/news/cannabis-cbd-antibiotics-nhs-treatment-b1807614
