Israel (cannabis research)

Israel has for decades been among the most permissive jurisdictions for cannabis research. Raphael Mechoulam and Yechiel Gaoni first isolated and characterized Δ⁹-THC at the Weizmann Institute and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 1964, and Mechoulam's laboratory later identified the endogenous cannabinoids anandamide (1992) and 2-AG (1995). Medical cannabis has been legally available since the early 1990s, with a formal national program established under the Ministry of Health. The ministry's Medical Cannabis Unit—Yakar (YKR)—licenses patients, growers, pharmacies, importers, and researchers, and maintains the IMC-GCP ("Green Book") clinical guidance. Active programs run at the Hebrew University Multidisciplinary Center for Cannabinoid Research, the Technion, Weizmann Institute, and Tel Aviv University. Government grants and integration with the public health system have enabled clinical studies—including IDF-supported PTSD work—that were infeasible in the United States during the same period. Israel became the world's largest importer of medical cannabis by 2020. → See also: GW Pharmaceuticals.