Israel’s medical cannabis Industry

Cannabis research in Israel has its roots in the 1960s. While it was possible to acquire a license to use the plant medically since the late 1970s, few people have done so and the field was relatively dormant until 2006, when Tikun-Olam received permission to grow 100 plants in order to serve the growing number of cannabis-treated patients. Since then, the industry – on all its aspects – has been constantly growing.

The roots of medical cannabis in Israel

The status of cannabis in the Land of Israel was initially legislated by the British High Commissioner of Palestine, A.G. Wauchope, under the 1936 “Dangerous drugs ordinance”. This was revised by the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, in 1973. Despite the status of cannabis as a “dangerous drug”, the State of Israel has allowed research of the plant a decade earlier.

In the early 1960’s Raphael Mechoulam, a young professor from the Weizmann Institute, decided to study the structure of the Cannabis Sativa plant. He chose this field of study because he believed that in Israel, then a country with few resources, he could not compete with researchers from other parts of the world working in more mainstream fields of research. Cannabis was never properly studied before, and this made Mechoulam’s research and groundbreaking discoveries reach international recognition soon enough [note]The scientist, a documentary about Mechoulam.[/note].

When Prof. Mechoulam and his colleagues Dr. Y. Shvo and Dr Y. Gaony started their research, they were able to obtain confiscated Lebanese hashish from the Israel Police. Mechoulam approached his administrative director at the Weizmann Institute and asked if he could get him some cannabis for his studies. The director contacted his friend, a high-ranking police officer, and the latter gave Mechoulam the cannabis he needed for the research.

Using (then) modern methods of chromatography, Prof. Mechoulam and his colleagues were able to isolate numerous cannabinoids and to elucidate their structures.[note]Cannabis, the Israeli perspective[/note] Their work laid the path for hundreds of consecutive studies discovering, isolating and researching different cannabinoids (approximately 120 have been isolated to date).

From the point of view of regulation, since the late 1970s in Israel, one could apply for a special permit from the Israeli Ministry of Health to use medical cannabis (or other “dangerous drugs”) in order to treat illnesses and symptoms, as long as the application is supported by a prescribing physician. [note]Israel’s 1979 drugs regulation[/note] Nevertheless, few people have applied: Between 1998 and 2005 it is estimated that only a few dozen permits were issued. [note]The Israeli parliament research and information center- 2005 [/note]

There are a number of reasons that may explain the low number of permit holders. Many people were not even aware of the possibility to apply for a permit. Also, only few medical conditions were seen to “justify” a prescription of medical cannabis. Most patients, even those with awareness and medical conditions that “qualified”, were simply too sick to confront the bureaucratic and logistic red tape necessary in order to obtain the permit and grow cannabis themselves. Even among those who overcame these obstacles, not all patients had the botanical knowledge needed to cultivate the plant.

Most importantly, the permit just granted permission to grow and use cannabis, but it did not include a cannabis plant clone or seeds, nor any means to obtain those. According to the officer responsible for this matter in the Ministry of Health, “patients had to grow the plant themselves, usually by contacting a senior permit holder and obtaining seeds from them”. [note]Ibid[/note] For a time, confiscated cannabis was distributed in some of the Israeli Police stations, but this changed following opposition by the police.[note]The Israeli parliament research and information center-2009[/note] One group with a vision was going to change all this in just a few years.

The medical cannabis revolution begins

2006 was a milestone year, the year that changed the future of medical cannabis in Israel forever. Tikun-Olam, than an NPO founded by Tzahi Cohen and a handful of volunteers, applied for permission from the Israeli Ministry of Health to grow 100 marijuana plants themselves, and eventually, to provide medical cannabis to patients for free.[note]Ibid[/note]

Tikun-Olam made history by being the first company to apply for a permit to become a medical cannabis supplier for patients. A couple of years later the number of patients grew and so has the need for more suppliers. By 2013 there were already eight different growers of medical cannabis in Israel.[note]The Israeli parliament research and information center,2015[/note] In the meanwhile, lawmakers were facing a problem. Israel joined the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs as signatory in November 1962, and in 1973 it reformulated the 1936 “Dengerous drugs act”.[note]Israeli government decision NO. 3609 [/note] In order to comply with the two, the government appointed the Ministry of Health to create an agency that will be dedicated to the subject of medical cannabis in Israel. This was how the Medical cannabis unit in the Ministry of Health came to be.[note]Israeli government decision NO. 1015[/note]

Since the number of patients with a medical cannabis permit grew almost exponentially (approximately 2,000 by the end of 2009 and approximately 22,000 by 2015), growers had to start charging money for cannabis in order to remain financially viable. The price of medical cannabis in Israel is dictated by the Ministry of Health, and to date stands at 370 NIS a month (equivalent to approximately 90 Euros). This price is fixed and unrelated to the amount of cannabis a patient is provided.[note]The Israeli parliament research and information center, 2015[/note] It means that the patient pays a monthly fee and receives the amount of cannabis prescribed in his license. Since the lowest amount of cannabis one can be prescribed is 20 grams, this price is among the lowest in the world.

Israeli R&D and innovation on cannabis advances in leaps and bounds

Soon after the increase in the number of medical cannabis permit holders, researchers started to show interest in the field. More and more studies dealing with medical cannabis were written, eventually leading to clinical trials studying the effects of medical cannabis on cancer, epilepsy, autism, Crohn’s Disease, colitis and many others. Most of these studies were and are conducted in cooperation with the growers, using their strains. Those collaborations are already beginning to create a reality in which specific strains are modified and tailored to treating specific conditions.

This rising number of patients and researches led to another phenomenon. A wave of entrepreneurs started creating a variety of marijuana startups. These include growing solutions, such as DryGair dehumidifiers, helping growers reduce expenses and produce better yields while using less energy and less pesticide; research solutions, such as Eybnas’ terpene-based solutions; and dispensing solutions, like the world’s first cannabis inhaler by Israeli company Syke.

Prof. Mechulam had unintentionally started a revolution when he isolated THC in its pure form for the first time. Tikun-Olam showed tremendous will and vision, doing what no company has done before and building the foundations of a thriving industry.

While it seems that Israel’s medical cannabis industry is light years from where it was only a few decades ago, we are still only at the beginning of the journey to explore the full potential of this plant. The future looks green!