CANNAINVESTOR Magazine March / April 2017 | Page 50

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WHAT IF YOU COULD INVEST IN COMPANIES DEVELOPING COMPOUNDS THAT MAY PROVE EFFECTIVE AGASINT SUPERBUGS?

What if antibiotic like properties were observed decades ago and more current research suggests that there may one day be an effective low cost alternative to antibiotics in the battle against bacteria and in particular superbugs? Headlines such as the following have given cause for concern.

“Antibiotic-resistant bacteria have become an out-of-control problem in our world, as doctors and leading health officials know too well”

www.humansarefree.com

“Deadly, Drug-Resistant ‘Superbugs’ Pose Huge Threat, W.H.O. Says”

www.nytimes.com (March 2017)

In 2008, ABC news, as part of its research at that time about a growing number of antibiotic resistant bacteria, reported:

Substances harvested from cannabis plants could soon outshine conventional antibiotics in the escalating battle against drug-resistant bacteria. The compounds, called cannabinoids, appear to be unaffected by the mechanism that superbugs like MRSA use to evade existing antibiotics. Scientists from Italy and the United Kingdom, who published their research in the Journal of Natural Products last month, say that cannabis-based creams could also be developed to treat persistent skin infections. Cannabis has long been known to have antibacterial properties and was studies using cannabis as an antibiotic has been limited by poor knowledge of the plant's active ingredients and by the controversy surrounding its use as a recreational drug. www.abcnews.go.com

Fast forward to 2016 with headlines such as “Is Marijuana The Next Big Antibiotic?”:

When it comes to marijuana legalization, we should be talking more about antibiotics. Studies have shown that compounds in cannabis effectively kill current antibiotic-resistant superbugs like MRSA. The majority of the arguments surrounding marijuana legalization focus on psychoactive THC. In general, anti-marijuana activists don’t want to legalize yet another mind-altering substance. But, focusing the legalization conversation on THC alone ignores perhaps one of the most important qualities of the cannabis plant: its antibiotic and antiseptic properties. www.herb.co