How Israel Became the Global Leader in Cannabis Research & the USA is falling behind !
Israeli researchers have explored the plant's seemingly limitless beneficial uses for decades while the US remained stubbornly in a prohibition dark age. As the United States struggles with the basics of cannabis research, such as providing proper cannabis to researchers, other countries have leapt ahead. One of the foremost is Israel, where many in the marijuana field believe the most innovative research is happening and is currently testing Cannabinoids for the treatment of COVID-19 as well.
“Israel isn’t just at the forefront of medical cannabis research, it is out in front by some margin.U.S. News and World Report referred to Israel as “The Holy Land of medical marijuana.”
That’s due in large part to Raphael Mechoulam, a biochemist and professor at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He played a major role in finding the basic chemical components of marijuana. Mechoulam began research on medical marijuana in the 1960s. Mechoulam earned a doctorate in Israeli and did postdoctoral work at the Rockefeller Center in New York. In the 1960s, he picked cannabis as a research topic after getting a junior faculty position at the Weizmann Institute in Rehovot. Looking back at older research, he was surprised to learn that no one had every isolated the active constituents of cannabis in pure form. He set out to do just that, even though marijuana was illegal at the time in Israel. Part of the reason Mechoulam moved forward with his plan to conduct cannabis research is because he didn’t know any better. He went to the administrative director at the Weizmann Institute and asked if he knew anyone with the police. The director, after realizing that Mechoulam “was not trying to settle some minor traffic ticket but was requesting starting material for research,” called the head of the investigative branch at police headquarters. The administrative director assured the head of investigations that Mechoulam was “reliable.” Based on that alone, Mechoulam was called to Tel Aviv and given five kilograms of “superb, smuggled Lebanese hashish.” It was only later the professor realized both he and the head of investigations “had broken quite a few laws,” It’s hard to imagine that happening today, and unimaginable in the U.S.
Israel today - What happened next is well-known in the marijuana industry. Mechoulam and other researchers isolated CBD and THC in marijuana, leading to more research on the psychological and physical impact of both on humans. By the 1990s, there was government-backed research in Israel, decades ahead of most other countries. In 2017, the School of Pharmacy at Hebrew University founded the Multidisciplinary Center for Cannabinoid Research. The center, which employs 27 cannabis researchers, lauds Mechoulam’s early work, which “heralded in a new age with a promising new vision for humankind.”
The center focuses marijuana research into these areas:
- Cancer - Pain - Inflammation and stress management - Immunity - Metabolism - Drug delivery and nanotechnology - Pharmaceutical chemistry - Neuroscience - Plant science and genetics
While not the only country ahead of the U.S. in research, Israel is certainly considered the one that is the farthest ahead. And with the European Review of Medical and Pharmacological Sciences reporting advances in marijuana research in Italy and other European countries, the U.S. runs the risk of falling even farther behind. And now Israel Researchers Believe CBD Could Play Crucial Role In COVID-19 Treatment and have 3 clinical trials that utilize CBD’s anti-inflammatory properties as potential COVID-19 treatment.
- Last week, InnoCan Pharma announced a collaboration with Tel Aviv University to instill CBD medicine through exosomes — or the small cell structures created when stem cells multiply. The unconventional method will utilize the exosomes as “homing missiles,” as they can uniquely target cell organs damaged by COVID-19. Researchers then believe CBD’s anti-inflammatory properties will repair the damaged cells through a synergistic effect. As COVID-19 attacks the respiratory system, scientists will have patients receive CBD-enriched exosomes through an inhalation device. Previous studies have shown CBD can help regulate the body’s immune system and reduce inflammation throughout the body.
2. A second clinical trial will occur over the coming weeks and includes 10 Covid-19 patients currently undergoing treatment in Israel’s Rabin Medical Center. Doctors will combine traditional steroids and CBD, with the belief CBD will enhance the therapeutic potential of the steroids. The trial, conducted by Stero Biotechs in collaboration with Mor Research Application, already has plans to expand treatment to 40 additional patients should it prove successful. “We estimate that our CBD-based treatment can enhance the current treatment of those patients who are in life-threatening conditions,” Stero Biotechs founder and CEO David Bassa said in a statement. “Hospitalized COVID-19 patients are mostly being treated with steroids and our study is planned to demonstrate the benefit of a combined solution with Steroid treatments. We are hopeful that this study will lead to faster benefit for the growing number of COVID-19 patients in Israel and around the world.”
3.A third study, launched by Tel Aviv’s Ichilov Medical Center, will investigate whether CBD's anti-inflammatory properties could lower respiratory symptoms experienced in moderate COVID-19 patients.
Canada has also announced a study on what role cannabis can play in slowing COVID-19. They also believe marijuana’s anti-inflammatory properties could provide a crucial role in potential treatment as well. WAKE UP AMERICA !