Jerusalem University launches medical cannabis research center

Israel continues to consolidate its leadership in medical cannabis research with the establishment of a multidisciplinary research center on cannabinoids at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Overall, the future center aims to be the the world's leading center for cannabis research and the study of cannabinoids, endocannabinoids and medical cannabis.

The program will focus primarily on diseases such as «cancer, pain, inflammation, and stress management,» as well as cannabis’s relationship to «immunity, metabolism, drug efficacy, pharmaceutical chemistry, neuroscience, and plant genetics .».

Its director, Joseph Tam, told the Jerusalem Post : «We feel extremely fortunate to be able to team up with a significant number of scientists and work together in this ever-expanding field of medicine, which holds great potential for discovering new cannabinoid-based therapies.»

According to Tam, all research materials (i.e., weed) for the program will come from the national medical cannabis production program, which is overseen by the Ministry of Health. Among the many programs, Dr. Eshed Williams and Professor Ostersetzer-Biran «will conduct research on the genetic analysis of cannabis.».

Israel has clearly been a leader in medical cannabis research since the 1960s, when Dr. Raphaël Mechoulam has managed to isolate and synthesize THC and CBD.

For Mechoulam, this research is a key driver for advancing cannabis-based therapies: «Modulating endocannabinoid activity has therapeutic potential for a wide range of human diseases. Strengthening research on the cannabinoids »could lead to significant advances, not only in the field of science but also in medicine."

In addition, Israel is also creating degrees in medical cannabis to train its healthcare professionals.