Israel: cannabis exports and autism study

Israel, which recently easier access to medical cannabis, now intends to export part of its production abroad, according to the latest statements from the Minister of Agriculture.

Uri Ariel, the minister in question, declared on the radio this weekend that within two years the country should create «protocols that will allow farmers to grow cannabis». He added that his ministry had already taken steps to set up facilities for cannabis research and trials.

Israel currently treats over 23,000 people with therapeutic cannabis, for conditions ranging from cancer and epilepsy to multiple sclerosis and HIV. The country is a pioneer in medical cannabis research, with greater ease of conducting cannabis studies than in Europe or the USA. In fact, it's an Israeli researcher, Raphael Mechoulam, who discovered THC in 1976, then the endocannabinoid system.

On another note, Israel today plans to conduct the world's first study to find out whether cannabis can help people suffering from autism. Dr. Adi Eran plans to conduct his research on 120 mild-to-moderate autistic individuals, and in particular to look at whether cannabis can help treat one of the best-known symptoms of autism: the inability to understand «normal» social behaviors.

Studies have already shown that increasing the activity of the CB1 endocannabinoid receptor improves social function, suggesting that a potential treatment for autism could be based on substances that stimulate this receptor, including phytocannabinoids, which are the cannabinoids found in the cannabis plant. As part of the study, patients will be given oils high doses of CBD.

Several Israeli families with autistic members have already received permission to use medical cannabis, with positive results. Administering CBD oil three times a day would, according to one nurse, calm autistic people and make them less likely to be violent. However, the treatment needs to be tested under rigorous conditions, hence the forthcoming study.