Regulation Regarding the Use of Cannabis Plant for Medical Purposes Worldwide and in Israel

Roi Polanitzer

Overview

In the last decade there has been a significant change in the use of cannabis for medical purposes worldwide. Accordingly, there has been an increase in the demand for cannabis for medical purposes, and various solutions have been proposed to facilitate access to cannabis therapy. Meanwhile, while cannabis use is illegal in most countries, it seems that the use for medical purposes is gaining sympathy both from the public and from the medical establishment. Accordingly, the trend of using cannabis for medical needs in Israel and abroad has grown, and the number of license holders for the use of cannabis for medical purposes has increased.

Regulation in the world

In Canada, medical cannabis has been approved for use by the Canadian health authorities already in 2001, with approximately 300,000 people currently eligible for medical cannabis. The same goes for the United States, where cannabis has been approved for medical use as well, and this trend is gaining momentum throughout the world.

In Germany, a medical cannabis plan was first approved for terminally ill patients, but in march 2017 a legislation was passed by the BFARM (the German Ministry of Health), which legitimized the treatment of cannabis in a broader manner. In Germany, there are over 20,000 patients who already receive medical cannabis and about 800,000 potential patients.

Other countries which have approved cannabis for medical use in recent years are Italy, Malta, Spain, Poland, the Czech Republic, Turkey, Finland, Greece, Australia, Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Mexico. At the same time, more and more studies are being published around the world regarding cannabis treatment in a wide variety of diseases.

Regulation in Israel

Today, Israel is one of the most advanced countries in the world in the use of cannabis for medical purposes. The Israeli government in its decision from June 2016, determined the outline of the regulation, which would ensure, on the one hand, the accessibility and supply of cannabis in a good quality, and on the other hand, the supervision of the product which defined in Israel as a "dangerous drug" and its indication for patients. In Israel, any specialist physician may recommend on a treatment in medical cannabis and may request an approval for a license through the Isreali Ministry of Health and in accordance with its instructions.

In addition, the he Isreali Ministry of Health is working to increase the number of physicians authorized to register prescriptions and licenses for a treatment in medical cannabis, by certifying additional physicians. To the best of my knowledge, at the time of writing these very lines, only 81 physicians have been certified (as opposed to 36 physicians who were certified prior to the new standards) and received permits for issuing a license in hospitals.

To the best of my knowledge, at the time of writing these very lines, approximately 30,000 patients in Israel currently hold a license to consume medical cannabis, 16.5 times more than in 2009.

In 2017, the Israeli Ministry of Health published procedures which include detailing and requirements for obtaining licenses for any entity in the cannabis supply chain for medical use, which in turn are designed to ensure that the quality of the supply chain is of the highest quality under IMC-Good Practices of the Medical Cannabis Unit- IMC-GAP, IMC-GMP, IMC-GDP, IMC-GSP, agriculture, manufacturing, distribution and security, respectively.

Mr. Polanitzer (F.IL.A.V.F.A.) FRM, CFV, is the chief valuator and actuary of Intrinsic Value, a privately firm specializes in financial advisory and professional evaluations for the purposes of financial reporting and expert opinions to courts, for tax purposes and regulatory and statutory authorities in Israel and abroad.

Mr. Polanitzer is certified as a Corporate Finance Valuator by IAVFA, Israel Association of Valuators and Financial Actuaries. In addition, Mr. Polaniter is the CEO of the Israel Association of Valuators and Financial Actuaries.