Israel (finally) authorizes the export of medical cannabis

After almost 2 years of stalemate, Israel will finally be able to export medical cannabis.

Although at the forefront of cannabis research since the 1960s, it was only in 2017 that the country proposes to legalize medical cannabis exports, This is one of the main reasons why Canadian industry is expanding internationally.

The decision prompted several Israeli cannabis growers to set up large-scale cultivation zones, in the hope of selling their products internationally. But in early 2018, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blocks export bill, The reason for this is officially the fear that cannabis grown in Israel could end up on the black market. Legislators persist and officially legalize medical cannabis exports in December 2018.

Two chaotic government elections and a labyrinthine bureaucratic process later, the Israeli government has finally given its final approval to the export law.

But there is a but. Israeli medical cannabis companies are now technically allowed to export their products. However, before international exports can be authorized, the domestic cannabis industry must be able to meet domestic demand for medical cannabis. And therein lies the rub: Israel has been facing a shortage of medical cannabis ever since one of the country's largest growers, Tikun Olam, was temporarily shut down due to doubts about its drying process. The Ministry of Health then urged Yitzhak Cohen, founder of Tikun Olam, to part company for obscure reasons.

Laura Kam, President of Kam Global Strategies, a communications company with numerous clients in Israel's cannabis industry, summarizes the situation: «There has been significant investment in cannabis farms and technology in Israel in recent years with a view to export, but due to bureaucratic infighting and now, with a caretaker government unable to give the final regulatory ok to export its crops in flower, oil or other forms, there is a lot of angst in the Israeli cannabis ecosystem.»

Kam also explains that many foreign investors «have decided to invest their funds and technological know-how outside the country, setting up farms in places like Malta and Uganda and investing in or founding cannabis companies around the world, from Poland to the US to Australia and beyond.»

With the moratorium on exports lifted, Israeli cannabis companies must now overcome a number of other regulatory hurdles before they can begin selling their wares abroad. To import goods into Europe, for example, companies must comply with European Certified Good Manufacturing Practices (EU-GMP), to which many Israeli cannabis companies are not yet compliant.