Israel creates a diploma to train medical cannabis professionals

The Max Stern Yezreel Valley University in Israel has decided to offer its students a diploma in behavioral sciences with a specialization in medical cannabis. The course will be launched at the start of the 2019 academic year and aims to provide training in the cannabis professions.

The country is indeed the leader in the field, and its research laboratories are considered the most advanced in the world. The Israeli government estimates that the therapeutic cannabis market will be worth $28 billion by 2024. «Given the significant impact this industry will have on the Israeli economy in the coming years, qualified professionals are needed to enter the field of medical cannabis and progress in parallel,» said Itzhak Harpaz, Director of the College.

The program will be directed by Dr. Efrat Barel, a professor in the psychology department at Max Stern Yezreel Valley College. The aim «is to prepare our graduates for these new professions in the field of medical cannabis, while at the same time academizing the field,» she says.

Courses will cover the growth and production of medical cannabis, medicine, pharmacology, economics and law. During their third year, students will have the opportunity to train during a field placement, which will give them hands-on experience in cannabis farms and production plants. They will also have the opportunity to attend seminars offered by university research laboratories and pharmaceutical companies.

This formation is not the first in its category: the Netherlands, for example, opened the Cannabis College Amsterdam in 1998, a facility dedicated to educating the general public about hemp and cannabis. The United States is no exception, with the’Oaksterdam University in California, whose courses are more oriented towards the commercialization of cannabis. Other courses on the cannabis industry and market have also been developed. launched in Europe.

However, this program is of great interest to Israel, given the importance of this industry to the country's economy.