For the week ending, January 14th, 2022, an article was published by researchers at the University of Oregon who studied the ability of a couple of cannabinoids, found in the hemp plant, can combat and prevent the COVID-19 virus from attaching to human cells. Thus, possibly reducing the likelihood of infection by this virus. This article was then picked up and posted on the National Institute for Health’s website as well, and subsequently has been making the rounds on many notable publications, including Forbes.

As one TV commentator stated, this doesn’t mean if you smoke weed, (marijuana) that this will prevent you from getting COVID. The answer is a bit more complicated, and in the spirit of being your resource for education, let us break this down into something easier to understand from the stories being published.

1. There are two cannabinoid compounds identified by researchers that have been found to have the ability to prevent COVID-19 from attaching to human cells. These two cannabinoids are CBD-A and CBG-A. CBD-A is short for cannabidiolic acid and CBG-A is short for cannabigerolic acid.
   
   People refer to CBG-A as the “mother cannabinoid” because, without it, no other cannabinoids, including CBD or THC would exist. In the hemp plant, CBG-A is first created and then it morphs into many of the related cannabinoids found in the hemp plant.
2. These two compounds are found in the hemp plant, and there are strains that favor the production of CBD-A or CBG-A. At High Falls Hemp NY, we have grown both CBD-A and CBG-A strains.
3. The CBD and CBG products that High Falls Hemp NY sells are for the most part the same compound with the acidic (A) portion of the compounds removed. The acidic portion (which comprises approximately 12% of the mass of these compounds) is released/removed during a process when the hemp is heated (also known as de-carboxylation) converting the CBD-A into CBD and CBG-A into CBG.
4. Prior to starting High Falls Hemp, we investigated which compounds from the hemp plant produced the greatest benefits, and here is what we discovered:

• The decarboxylated form of the plant, CBD, was shown to have the greatest wellness benefits to people who were looking for solutions to sleeplessness, stress, or joint/muscle pain/stress.
• The acidic forms of the hemp plant, CBD-A, CBG-A, THC-A as well as the acidic form of the range of cannabinoids were shown by research, mostly coming from Israel where they have been studying medical benefits of cannabinoids for many years, to have application as it pertained helping treat various illnesses.
• As a consumer product company, we chose the path to produce products that help most people, which meant the decarboxylated forms of these cannabinoids.
• The acidic forms of cannabinoids seemed to have application towards a minority of people suffering from severe diseases until this latest research was shared.

A corollary to this is that there is usually trace amounts of THC-A in the hemp plant and large amounts of THC-A in the marijuana/cannabis plant. The funny thing is that THC-A does not get you high, but has been shown to have benefits to those suffering from autism, as anecdotally shared by some of our customers, and this research.

• THC is the decarboxylated form of THC-A, which can be created by burning marijuana (i.e.- smoking it) which converts the THC-A to THC, and the liberated THC then will cause a high in people.

Most of the cannabinoids in the hemp plant are in the acidic form, but up until now, the broader application being followed by most brands has been to convert the CBD-A into CBD, CBG-A into CBG, etc. This is what High Falls Hemp has been doing since we began operations in 2018.

Take-away:

Most of the existing CBD products rely on the decarboxylated forms of CBD, not the acidic form CBD-A.

However, there is much hemp biomass that has not been extracted which can be a source for CBD-A or CBG-A and you should expect to see this compound be formulated into many immunity products from manufacturers. As always, choose a brand that produces premium quality products, stands by them, and offers a money-back guarantee. And, most important, always consult with your physician first.