A limited-edition strain from an Oregon-based grower was named after U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris—and it ended up becoming the topic of a conversation on Jimmy Kimmel Live. The vice president has nothing to do with Kamala Kush, but was asked about the peculiar strain bearing her name while on live television.

In an interview with late-night host Jimmy Kimmel on June 4, he brought up the topic of the proposal to move cannabis to Schedule III, and several other questions related to the topic. Benzinga reports that Harris appeared “visibly surprised upon learning that a cannabis strain had been named after her.”

“I think we both agreed people shouldn’t have to go to jail for smoking weed,” Harris said. “Well you don’t go to jail for drinking alcohol why would you go to jail for smoking. And so we’ve pardoned a number of people.”

She admitted resources are better spent on worse drug problems like fentanyl, and that it’s been determined that cannabis is not in fact a gateway drug.

“You know, I think it’s interesting also because, remember, there was a time when people would say, ‘well, marijuana is a gateway drug,’ and these were failed policies,” she said. “The resources should be better directed—and will be better directed—to deal with opioid addiction and what we need to do around fentanyl, getting more resources into mental health and mental health care.”

Kimmel confronted her about a strain in Oregon called Kamala Kush and asked her if she knew anything about it. 

Laughing, Harris replied, “Really? Seriously? I did not know that.”

Clackamas, Oregon-based Alibi Cannabis, is a woman-owned cannabis operation that created Kamala Kush. “So excited about this limited-run genetic,” Alibi Cannabis says about the strain. “Earthy and grounding. Buds are weighty and shaped like grenades. A unique flavor for an active high. Available only for a limited time!” Alibi Cannabis is available at dozens of OLCC-approved dispensaries throughout Oregon.

Kimmel also seemed surprised that the developers hadn’t sent Harris a sample. Even if they had, Harris said, “I’m not touching that.”

Kamala Harris and Her Evolving Stance on Cannabis

Alibi Cannabis appeared to be just as surprised about the mention on Jimmy Kimmel Live as everyone else, and acknowledged that she formerly served as a state prosecutor, which put her at odds with people who handle cannabis.

“Alibi produced a special edition strain called ‘Kamala Kush,’ the grower posted on their website. “In a wild turn of events, Jimmy Kimmel asked VP Harris about it. See her reaction! Would love to share with her our vision of a cannabis industry focused on helping people and providing high quality plant medicine.”

“We know her stance has been very negative towards the cannabis industry, but what better way of moving forward than to reach out and educate.”

Due to Harris’s history of having prosecuted some 2,000 cannabis-related offenders during her job as District Attorney of San Francisco in California, some people took her rescheduling announcement with a grain of salt.

But by 2019, Harris said that cannabis “gives a lot of people joy,” signaling that her views on the plant might be changing. In February 2019, Harris admitted in an interview on The Breakfast Club to smoking cannabis in college. “I have. And I inhaled—I did inhale. It was a long time ago. But, yes,” she said in a reference to former president Bill Clinton’s famous “didn’t inhale” comment he said in 1992.

Last March, Harris hosted a White House meeting to discuss drug policy reform that will feature guests including hip hop artist Fat Joe and others who have benefitted from the cannabis pardons granted by the Biden administration. The Friday meeting will also include Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, a leading proponent of cannabis legalization in his state, and other advocates for ending the criminal prohibition of cannabis. 

On May 16, on the same day as President Joe Biden, Harris announced that it’s time to move cannabis to Schedule III, and posted a video with a speech about the game-changing move.

“President Biden and I vowed to address injustices in marijuana policy,” she said. “Today, our Administration takes another major step forward.”

“Currently marijuana is classified on the same level as heroin and more dangerous than fentanyl,” Harris said in another video. “We are finally changing that. But I want to thank all of the advocates and everyone out there for helping to make this possible and we are on the road to getting it done.” 

Harris’s views are quickly changing, and the move to Schedule III could be a boost for the Biden administration with the general election quickly approaching this November.

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A new study this week has potheads gloating, late night talk show hosts snickering and a pandemic-scarred public contemplating a scenario straight out of a stoner comedy: Could cannabis actually stave off Covid?

The truth is, annoyingly, less straightforward than that. 

The study, published in the Journal of Natural Products, found that “cannabis compounds prevented the virus that causes Covid-19 from penetrating healthy human cells.”

According to the authors of the study, “cannabigerolic acid and cannabidiolic acid prevented infection of human epithelial cells by a pseudovirus expressing the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and prevented entry of live SARS-CoV-2 into cells,” while “cannabigerolic acid and cannabidiolic acid were equally effective against the SARS-CoV-2 alpha variant B.1.1.7 and the beta variant B.1.351.”

A report by Bloomberg helped distill all that for the laymen. 

“The two compounds commonly found in hemp — called cannabigerolic acid, or CBGA, and cannabidiolic acid, or CBDA — were identified during a chemical screening effort as having potential to combat coronavirus, researchers from Oregon State University said. In the study, they bound to spike proteins found on the virus and blocked a step the pathogen uses to infect people,” Bloomberg explained. “The researchers tested the compounds’ effect against alpha and beta variants of the virus in a laboratory. The study didn’t involve giving the supplements to people or comparing infection rates in those who use the compounds to those who don’t.”

“These compounds can be taken orally and have a long history of safe use in humans,” Richard van Breemen, a researcher with Oregon State’s Global Hemp Innovation Center said in a statement, as quoted by Bloomberg. “They have the potential to prevent as well as treat infection by SARS-CoV-2.”

There are a few details to keep in mind. The Oregon State University in vitro study hasn’t gone as far as human trials, as limits in medical cannabis research continue to be the norm. Futhermore, cannabigerolic acid and cannabidiolic acid are converted to other compounds after decarboxylation and/or smoking. So smoking, for instance, probably isn’t an efficient way of gaining these benefits.

Nesas Hemp is maker of “the world’s first living full-spectrum organic CBDA hemp extract.” The company uses living hemp and preserves the plant’s natural molecular structure and naturally occurring CBDA, and other beneficial phytonutrients.

“The recent study done by researchers at Oregon State University, underscores what we’ve known for years—CBDA has medicinal properties. The big takeaway from this study however, is that the compounds that help prevent the virus that causes COVID-19 from entering human cells are cannabigerolic acid, or CBGA, and cannabidiolic acid, CBDA, NOT the generic CBD compounds that are found in so many hemp products today,” Nesas Hemp CEO Inesa Ponomariovaite told High Times. “That’s because CBGA and CBDA are produced using raw, living hemp, which ensures the healthy compounds that naturally occur in the plant end up in the final product that is eventually consumed by people. Regular CBD products are often made by burning the plant, which is not only carcinogenic, it also damages the molecular structure of the plant and changes its medicinal properties. In fact, research shows CBDA is often 1,000 times more potent than CBD and helps reduce inflammation, improves digestion, boosts the immune system, improves sleep and stabilizes moods.”

Ponomariovaite continued, saying “currently, most CBD products use extreme temperatures and other harmful processes to extract cannabinoids from the hemp plant to produce hemp extract, also known as hemp oil. This damages the natural cannabinoid acids and the medicinal properties found in the plant.”

The study has gone viral and has also prompted laughs and notes of caution from experts. The revelations proved to be quality fodder for late night monologues.

“This would be interesting. All this time we’ve been listening to the C.D.C., we should have been eating CBD,” cracked Jimmy Kimmel on Wednesday.

“You know, it’s funny—all these crazy cures, I’m like ‘Oh, that’s ridiculous.’ Ivermectin, the horse dewormer; bleach. And then somebody says marijuana prevents Covid, I’m like ‘Oh, really? Do tell,” he said.

Stephen Colbert couldn’t resist either.

“Great news for all the teenagers whose parents find weed in their room: ‘Oh, Mom, I see you found the Covid-stopping compounds that I hid in my sock drawer. Those aren’t mine. No, no. Those aren’t mine. I’m just holding them for my friend, Tony Fauci,’” he said Wednesday.

“In other words, the pot enters the body and asks Covid, ‘Are you a cell? You have to tell me if you’re a cell,’” Colbert added.

Cannabis Use Won’t Replace Coronavirus Vaccinations

Still, this doesn’t mean that you should swap a jab for a joint.

As Chris Roberts explained over at Forbes, what the Oregon State study does show is that “that certain cannabis-derived preparations, given in the right amount, might help people fight off Covid-19,” which he said is “exciting stuff.”

“What this research does not mean is that smoking cannabis helps protect you from the coronavirus, or that ‘weed stops Covid’ (at least in the practical sense), or that the reason why someone got sick with Covid while someone else didn’t had anything to do with cannabis,” Roberts wrote.

Forbes highlighted some other reasons to be skeptical of the study, with Dr. Mikael Sodergren, the head of Imperial College London’s medical cannabis research group, telling the outlet that the findings would still need to be “confirmed in animal models and tested on humans in clinical trials.”

Sodergren told Forbes that the study furthermore provides “no evidence to support the smoking or ingestion of cannabis products to do the same.”

The benefits of hemp and cannabis continue to unfold. Dr. Raphael Mechoulam was ahead of the game, praising the health benefits of cannabinoid acids in 2019.

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