Dr. Raphael Mechoulam

Raphael Mechoulam (November 5, 1930 – March 9, 2023) was an Israeli organic chemist and Lionel Jacobson Professor of Medicinal Chemistry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, widely known as the "father of cannabis research." With Yehiel Gaoni he elucidated the structure of cannabidiol in 1963 and isolated and determined the structure of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol in 1964, followed by total synthesis in 1965. In 1992, with postdoctoral researchers William Devane and Lumír Hanuš, he identified the first endogenous cannabinoid, anandamide (N-arachidonoylethanolamine), reported in Science (Devane et al., 1992, PMID 1470919); in 1995, with doctoral student Shimon Ben-Shabat, he isolated the second major endocannabinoid, 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG). These discoveries established the foundation of the endocannabinoid system as a homeostatic regulator. Mechoulam received the Israel Prize in Chemistry (2000) and the Harvey Prize (2019–2020), and was a founding member of the International Cannabinoid Research Society. → See also: Anandamide, 2-AG, Endocannabinoid system.