GANJA GAMER GEEK REVIEW: TOM CLANCY’S THE DIVISION

Ganja Gamer Geek Review:

Trigger Warning Tom Clancy’s The Division

Bishop Henry

One of the best things to do to pass the time while quarantined during the COVID-19 spread is to get stoned and play video games. The video game industry is one of the most popular and lucrative entertainment industries in the world! Some people, like myself, even consider video games to be an art form. Games are an interactive story that engages an audience for 20-60 hours at a time, the more hours the better. Like art does sometimes, it imitates life--and that is definitely true with Tom Clancy’s: The Division, a third-person shooter role playing game by Ubisoft published in 2016. The Division’s storyline hits ironically close to home during these troubling times. In the game, the year is 2020 and a manufactured smallpox virus, that spread during “Black Friday”, has infected the world population. Trigger Warning: The opening title sequence looks like it could have been taken from today’s news. Black Friday fights, scenes of bodies dying in hospital beds as people fight over basic necessities, the lack of PPE, the mobilization of the military to control people, and the riots that ensue. It’s a little disturbing to watch. Once you get into the game, the empty streets and trash covered allies seem even more familiar with what we can see outside our windows today.

In The Division, the player is part of a secret elite team that is trying to track down the source of the virus. Players have to search an open world Manhattan for medical supplies and clues. Players can customize their character’s appearance, their weapon load out, and gear with items or money looted from dead enemies. The gameplay control is the standard shooter type and if familiar with shooter games, are easy to learn. The enemies in the game have decent AI and are aggressive, but absorb bullets and lack the realistic response when shot like they do in other Tom Clancy games.

Headshots don’t automatically take down enemies at medium ranges, for instance. The three dimensional user interface can be a little hard to read if the camera angle is too high or is in a weird spot. This game is a few years old and, as games do, visually improve and develop fast, but is still playable and enjoyable.

The Division originally released in 2016 and has a sequel, The Division 2, which was released in March 2019. The Division broke Ubisofts sales record and was it’s best-selling game at the time. People can play Tom Clancy’s: The Division for free for 6 hours, or up to level 8, via Ubisofts’s Desktop app Uplay. The full game is available to buy once players reach their time/level limit and they get to keep their character and game progress.

So it feels pretty insane that the whole thing seems so probable and realistic now. Maybe we’re being conditioned by the entertainment we consume. Maybe it’s a valuable training simulation. Maybe it’s just a fun but terrifying way to smoke some weed and kill a whole lot of hours while isolating during a pandemic driven quarantine. You’ll have to decide for yourself.

COVID-19 & CBD

If you know a stoner, you know that they will always turn to cannabis as a cure-all. Headaches, body aches, shitty movies, weed tends to help everything get better. With the current C O V I D - 1 9 p a n d e m i c , social media has gone… viral…with claims saying the same thing to be true with treating this current strain of CoronaVirus. Even former NFL AllAmerican Kyle Turley is taking to the air saying that CBD can cure and even prevent COVID-19. Research is underway, nothing is concrete yet. However, it can help in a few different ways. Bishop Henry

Marijuana is made up of two active components. T H C a n d C B D . T H C , is the component that gives the user a “High feeling.” CBD is a nonpsychoactive compound taken from cannabis and hemp; it does not produce a high. The FDA has only approved CBD for treating rare and severe forms of seizure, although it is promoted for many other health benefits.

Former NFL Offensive lineman Kyle Turley is the founder of Neuro Armour, A THC-free cannabis oil. Turley believes that CBD can ignite the cannabinoid system, the CB1 and CB2 receptors that battle viruses. He believe CBD can be used to restore the body to “homeostasis.” He says in an interview with Dr. Phil. Turley answered questions about his claims saying that he believes CBD can boost the immune system to “10” and defeat COVID-19 but the FDA has warned him to stop making this claim. The former NFL lineman claims the warning came because Cannabis is a Federally Schedule 1 drug, not because the claims he was making about CBD were false or unfounded.

According to a Leafly interview with NY physician Dr. Junella Chin, what cannabis is good for during the COVID-19 Pandemic is to help treat the anxiety people might be having during this historic time. If users are COVID symptom free, keep on using as before. It is not recommended to smoke if you do have a cold, flu, or symptoms of COVID-19. CBD and THC edibles can help with the aches and pains associated with severe colds and flus.

In a separate interview with Canadian Dr. Shawn Meirovici, who specializes in pain management, he states there is no direct link between cannabis use and treating colds and the flu. He does say that there is new evidence that pain management can be achieved when responsibly used. “The cannabinoids THC and CBD have been shown to have pain-relieving, sleep-inducing, and antiinflammatory properties,” he says. On sick days, he suggests cannabis may help reduce body aches, ease inflammation of the airways, and increase relaxation to help you sleep. As for flu symptoms, he says cannabis may also have “antipyretic or feverreducing properties, due to its ability to suppress the immune system.” He says some research suggests CBD has antiviral properties.

In an article posted on WEB MD in June 2019, research on CBD against different types of bacteria, including bacteria that has become resistant to traditional antibiotics, was being done. The research was presented at the Annual meeting of the American Society for Microbiology by PhD, Mark Blaskovich,

senior research officer at the Centre for Superbug Solutions at the Institute for Molecular Bioscience a t t h e U n i v e r s i t y o f Queensland in Australia. It should be noted that information presented at meetings is still preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed medical journal. Blaskovich is a consultant for Botanix Pharmaceuticals, Ltd. The Australian government and Botanix are funding the research study into treating skin conditions with CBD. Although the research studies are in their preliminary stages and have not reached the human trials yet, the findings are very promising.

"The first thing we looked at is CBD's ability to kill bacteria. In every case, CBD had a very similar potency to that of common antibiotics."

The researchers tested the CBD against some strains of staphylococcus, which cause skin infections, and streptococcus, which cause strep throat.

T h e y c o m p a r e d h o w e f f e c t i v e C B D w a s c o m p a re d t o c o m m o n antibiotics, vancomycin and daptomycin. "We looked at how quickly the CBD killed the bacteria…within 3 hours, which is pretty good. Vancomycin kills over 6 to 8 hours." The CBD also disrupted the biofilm around bacteria that makes it more difficult for the antibiotic to penetrate and kill. The lab studies showed that "CBD is much less likely to cause resistance than the existing antibiotics," Blaskovich says.

Research found CBD effective against grampositive bacteria but not gram-negative. Grampositive bacteria cause serious skin infections and pneumonia, among other conditions. Common gram-negative bacteria are salmonella and E. coli .

The researchers tested topical CBD to treat a skin infection on mice. Blaskovich says, although it did not clear the infection, it cut the number of bacteria after 48 hours.

It’s promising but still too early to tell if CBD will be a super bug killer but the research so far is very positive. Until research is completed, people should probably continue to follow d o c t o r s ’ o r d e r s w h e n it comes to antibiotics. However, it doesn’t look like using CBD will hurt in any way and might even help antibiotics if the research is correct. As far as a cure for COVID-19, maybe not, but CBD might help noost your immune system preventing you from contracting COVID-19.