BY RUTH HILL R.N.
Reports of an article titled “Commercial Cannabinoid Oil-Induced Stevens-Johnson Syndrome,” is making its way into mainstream media who are jumping on the drug war bandwagon. A 56-year-old women died recently from complications of Steven-Johnson Syndrome (SJS) while taking a nonregulated FDA cannabidiol (CBD) product. While this article does not make any causal relationship between her death and cannabis it does point out the serious drug interactions that can occur.
SJS is caused by drug to drug interactions. It presents with symptoms of fever, unexplained widespread skin pain and rash that spreads then blisters on all mucous membranes. Skin tissue starts to shed, detach and patients eventually succumb to septic shock.
What caused her death and how can you avoid this? Pharmaceuticals this woman was taking included: famotidine, lisinopril-hydrochlorothiazide, and meloxicam. She had been taking CBD products for several years without side effects. Prior to her hospitalization she switched to a new CBD tincture, Natural Native, in grapeseed oil which contains retinoids. Natural Native utilizes a liposomal delivery method which facilitates a 10 to 100-fold increase in availability of the drug in the circulating system.
Similar to grapefruit juice, CBD can cause drug-drug interactions. CBD can block or increase actions on cytochrome P450 enzymes (CYPs). Liposomal delivery likely enhanced not only the level of CBD in the patient but also the level of retinoid compounds found in the grapeseed oil. This, in turn, slowed the metabolism of the meloxicam, further elevating its levels in the blood. There was no certificate of analysis on the website for this product, therefore we don’t know the dose of CBD that was administered or if other contaminants were also present. This perfect storm of meloxicam, retinoid compounds and liposomes triggered the Stevens-Johnson syndrome resulting in death.
Avoid liposomal products. Remember hemp CBD products are not regulated or tested like those sold in dispensaries. Clean your devices. There are many products out there if you cannot get any alcohol such as BongBae. Many viruses can stick to surfaces for 1-2 days. I am sure we will go back to sharing a joint very shortly as current medical research by many scientists is claiming there are many people who have the virus and do not know it. Therefore, we already have immunity.
When we do open the economy, we have treatments for the COVID-19 virus. There are those suggesting Schweppes tonic water and zinc. These can be used as a prophylaxis until your symptoms require a physician to prescribe the hydroxychloroquine azithromycin and zinc combination. We are learning that providing this treatment early is key to preventing the need for a ventilator.
The endocannabinoid system in our bodies is our natural defense in fighting diseases. We naturally produce Anandamide (our THC) and 2-AG (our CBD). These endogenous cannabinoids have medicinal and therapeutic benefits. Consuming cannabis to replace our deficits is proven to be anti-inflammatory, anti-anxiety, anti-pain, and immune-modulating. THC in small doses have been found to be a bronchodilator and has been shown to quell the cytokine storm described at the beginning of this article.
There are nurses and doctors being laid off due to empty hospitals. The Navy’s hospitals are practically empty. The Javits Center does not have COVID-19 patients. Hospitals are prevented from doing elective surgeries and seeing regular patients with everyone focused on COVID-19. Look at what Florida is doing. They helped their nursing facilities early giving them protective equipment while managing the most vulnerable.
We have treatments for this virus. Let’s treat everyone prophylactically and open the economy. We need to get back to work. Staying idle at home away from loved ones is dangerous for our health. Suicides are increasing. There are millions of people not getting their chemotherapy, their iron infusions, their intravenous antibiotics, tests that diagnose advance disease and a multitude of other ailments. The media is not giving us accurate information.
You can’t go to WAR expecting NO casualties. Fear is not the answer. Our natural bodies have a resilience we can rely on. Have faith in your own intuition. I believe we need to pressure our legislators to open the economy and use the treatments we have before we die, alone in our houses in despair. For questions on drug interactions with cannabis or current treatments for COVID-19 email hilruth@gmail.com
