Scientists Claim 'Medicinal Cannabis' Could Help Fight COVID-19

Ever since scientists reportedly explored the deterrent effects of nicotine in preventing the coronavirus, potheads probably figured it was only a matter of time until somebody did the same for marijuana.

Now, a team of researchers in Calgary told a local TV station that their research into local strains of marijuana shows "promise."

The husband-and-wife team say they've been researching potential medicinal properties of marijuana for more than five years, but started to 'pivot' their research once the coronavirus came on the scene.

Olga and Igor Kovalchuk have been working with cannabis since 2015, using varieties from around the world to create new hybrids and develop extracts that demonstrate certain therapeutic properties.

"There’s a lot of documented information about cannabis in cancer, cannabis in inflammation, anxiety, obesity and what not," says Igor. "When COVID-19 started, Olga had the idea to revisit our data, and see if we can utilize it for COVID.

"It was like a joker card, you know, coronavirus. It just mixes up everybody’s plans," says Olga.

She says they started to examine the special proteins, or receptors, that the virus hijacks to enter the body, and they’ve now submitted a research paper studying the effects of medical cannabis on COVID-19.

"We were totally stunned at first, and then we were really happy," says Olga.

Specifically, the researchers at the University of Lethbridge suspect that certain anti-inflammatory high-CBD cannabis extracts can help modulate the levels of the receptors in the mouth, lungs and intestinal cells, areas that are among the most vulnerable for coronavirus infection. Previous research has shown that some of these strains can "modulate" the activity of a receptor known as "ACE2", which other researchers have shown might be a critical gateway for the virus.

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/scientists-claim-medicinal-cannabis-could-help-fight-covid-19

THIS IS HUGE: Oregon Government Orders Facebook to Remove Gateway Pundit Article on Republican Ballot Scandal – Facebook Complies — Despite Hundreds of Confirmed Testimonies

Gateway Pundit readers may recall a recent story we did that shed light on hundreds, possibly thousands, of Oregon voters who mysteriously had their party changed, most from Republican to Non Affiliated, without their permission, consent or knowledge, effectively denying them the right to vote in their party’s primary and disqualifying them from being Precinct Committee Persons.

Today we found out the State Of Oregon is now working with Facebook to delete all mentions of this story.

Earlier today Facebook gave The Gateway Pundit a strike for posting this story even though we had 32 statements from different Oregon Republican voters to back up our report.

Despite hundreds of people coming forward with similar stories about how they received a non affiliated ballot, and despite many screenshots from the Facebook group mentioned in our article, Facebook’s infamous “fact checkers” deemed the story as “misinformation” at the request of the Oregon state government.

This is what people see when a link to the article comes up in their feed:

Lead Stories flagged The Gateway Pundit article and issued the strike as a “hoax alert.”

Lead stories author Alexis Tereszcuk did not contact any of the 30+ Oregon voters who said their party affiliation was changed.

MORE

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/05/huge-oregon-government-orders-facebook-remove-gateway-pundit-article-republican-ballot-scandal-facebook-complies-despite-hundreds-confirmed-testimonies/

Donald Trump: ‘We Are Not Closing the Country’ if Hit by Second Wave of Coronavirus

President Donald Trump said Thursday in Michigan that he would not close the country if it was hit by a second wave of the coronavirus.

“We are going to put out the fires. We’re not going to close the country,” Trump said. “We can put out the fires. Whether it is an ember or a flame, we are going to put it out. But we are not closing our country.”

The president spoke during a tour of a Ford factory that was manufacturing ventilators, as he continues pushing for the country to reopen after the coronavirus-fueled shutdowns.

“We did the right thing, but now it is time to open it up,” he said. “A never-ending lockdown would invite a public health calamity. To protect the health of our people, we must have a functioning economy.”

Earlier in the day, Trump said that some Democrat governors were not reopening their states fast enough.

“You have a lot of, unfortunately in this case, Democrat governors, I think they think it’s great politics to keep it closed, but what are they doing, they’re hurting themselves, I don’t think it is good politics … they’re hurting themselves, they’re hurting their state, and it’s not good,” Trump said, and added, “You’ll break the country if you don’t.”

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/05/21/donald-trump-we-are-not-closing-the-country-if-hit-by-second-wave-of-coronavirus/

California Officials Threaten to Withhold Coronavirus Funds from Rural County After Local Leaders Open Economy

Just hours after Tulare County supervisors voted to open up for business despite Gov. Gavin Newsom’s lockdown orders, officials received a letter threatening to withhold some of the $47 million in federal CARES Act relief funds it had been awarded.

“It is my understanding Tulare County has taken steps that are inconsistent with the Governor’s Executive Orders and the State Public Health Officer’s directives,” the letter from the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services said.

“These problematic and concerning actions jeopardize public health and safety, not only within the county, but beyond, through community contact and spread,” the letter said. It went on:

If Tulare County believes there is no emergency, such that it can ignore the Governor’s Executive Orders or the State Public Health Officer’s directives, the county would not be able to demonstrate that it was extraordinarily and disproportionately impacted by COVID-19. This could jeopardize its disaster fundin.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported on how local officials were responding to the suffering of local businesses when they voted to reopen:

“It’s become an issue of needing to get people back on their feet, back to work,” said Supervisor Dennis Townsend, who authored the county’s measure that permits virtually all businesses to reopen and halts local enforcement of the California stay-at-home directive. “By trying to protect people, we were taking away the livelihood of people.”

The Visalia Times Delta reported on the rift between state and local governments:

The supervisors’ 3-2 decision allows nearly all businesses to reopen that fall under Phase 2 and Phase 3 of the state’s plan. That includes dine-in restaurants, churches, barbers, gyms, movie theaters and shopping malls.

As for the disaster funding, Townsend said the county has spent about $1.4 million on its COVID-19 response so far. By comparison, the CAO estimates the county will lose between $18-25 million in tax revenues with the economy shut down.

On Monday, Newsom singled out Tulare and neighboring Kings counties as two of five that will remain closed under newly relaxed criteria for restarting California’s economy. He pointed to severe outbreaks at nursing homes and meatpacking plants as obstacles the bi-county region would need to overcome before its economy could progress.

The Times Delta reported that Chairman Pete Vander Poel said “holding Tulare County hostage” because of nursing homes and the “corporate bad actors” who operate them for a profit is unfair because it is, after all, the state regulates those facilities.

But some businesses are nervous since state officials have bullied them.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/05/21/california-officials-threaten-to-withhold-coronavirus-funds-from-rural-county-after-local-leaders-open-economy/