The world market of medical marijuana is steadily growing, and Israel has become the leader in the field of scientific development. In Russia, they are still looking askance at manufacturers of technical hemp, which it is pointless to smoke that for the correction of health, which is for pleasure. On April 20, the employee of the Tel Aviv office of the Internet Internet company, Yoni B., went straight to the Knesset building, not to work, in the morning, in order to smoke along the jamb with marijuana along with several comrades. Recently, marijuana Yoni smokes regularly: the doctor prescribed - for insomnia. Usually he does it, however, less demonstratively. But today, on the International day of marijuana, Yoni participates in the protest action. The gathering believes that Israel should resolve cannabis not only for medical purposes. Medical marijuana in the country has been legalized since the early 1990s - then the first experiments in individual hospitals began. Officially, it was used in 1996, which makes the local cannabis medical program one of the oldest in the world. But the first step was made back in the 1960s by the Israeli chemist Rafael Meshulam, who managed to isolate the cannabinoid THC - one of the active substances of this plant. Then he and his colleagues identified three more cannabinoids and studied their effects in detail. Thanks to the work of Meshulam, Israel has become a pioneer in the use of cannabis for the treatment of various diseases and anesthesia. Until full legalization this country is now within reach. Now people can face fine for using without a prescription - but last year, according to official statistics, a little more than three thousand were written out for such fines, a half of the cases were eventually closed. According to the UN, 27% of Israel's population use cannabis. This is the second place in the world, ahead only Papua New Guinea with 30% of the population. In Russia, for comparison, according to the UN, only 3.5%. The protest action, in which Yoni participated, ended peacefully, and everyone went home. Regardless of whether or not cannabis is fully legalized in Israel, the local business hopes to make excellent money on medical marijuana. Rafael Meshulam became a star for hundreds of local cannabis startups - he is mentioned in the conversation and will tell in detail that without the cannabinoids discovered by him cannabis revolution in medicine, and maybe even legalization would be impossible. Startups predict Meshulam's Nobel Prize. And they predict hundreds of millions of profits and a cloudless future, because medical marijuana has already been solved in more than 30 countries. The people of grass Two and a half years ago, Avihu Tamir fell out of his life every month for several days: he suffered from severe migraines, and sometimes his head ached so that he simply could not work. "No painkillers prescribed by the doctor helped me, and I missed a few days at work every month because of pain," he recalls. This continued until the doctor suggested that he try cannabis as a remedy for migraine. Avihu agreed, although before that he did not even smoke tobacco. Like many Israeli patients, he came to the nurse's briefing, which showed him how to apply a new medicine: "Take paper for roll-ups, put tobacco, sprinkle with cannabis, that's how you fold and smoke," she used to mentor. Avihu Tamir was in shock - he did not come to the teenagers' party, but to be treated! But the new tool helped him, so Aviq became interested in the problem and found that cannabis throughout the world, from Canada to Australia, patients are given in "cones" (inflorescences of female plants). At the same time, the content of the active substance differs from the plant to the plant (the spread is 20-30%), what dose the substance receives the patient, is unclear, and whether it is possible to preserve sobriety of the mind with such treatment is also unclear. Aviha, at that time, was engaged in business for several years, and soon simple interest grew into a medical start-up Kanabo Research. He developed a vaporizer and containers with cannabis processed into dense oil. There are several options - to relieve pain, from insomnia, with nervous disorders. An application is available that shows the received dose on the phone and sends information to the doctor. This combination, according to the businessman, makes the "herb" real medicine, which, in addition, has much fewer side effects. But it's difficult to get rid of this drug: its various variations either just eliminate pain, or treat anxiety disorders or sleep disorders. The mood from him does not change, and you can work on a par with everyone. "Here, look - quite a medical product," - says Avihu and does a puff. Fans of "smoke" the upcoming legalization will be disappointed: not only does not get high - there is no characteristic smell from the vapor of the vaporizer either. Finally, the dose can not be shared - the ampoule is not opened, and the dosage in them is calculated accurately. And what's the point, if you do not expect a buzz all the same? While the first generation of vaporayzers is tested at a local hospital, Tamir company is already working on the following device, which allows to accurately measure the dose of 2 mg each time it is puffed. (Usually, doctors start with this dosage and gradually increase the dose by the same 2 mg.) In the startup invested immigrant from the USSR Aryeh Weber. Weber does not disclose the amount of investments, but he hopes that in a couple of years he will go on an IPO in Canada or the US, and then the start-up will cost hundreds of millions of dollars. "This direction is the future, especially those who started first, and Israel was the first, so now all the new startups in the world somehow rely on our experience," says the investor. Other Science Similar start-ups in Israel are already more than 500. But farmers who supply raw materials, while only eight. One of them, Gehry Colin, the head of the farm Teva Adir, has been growing cannabis since 2007 for 1500 patients. "Licenses are issued by the Ministry of Health, and the main criterion for them is the ability to ensure product safety, its quality and growing experience," he explains. His farm, for example, is patrolled 24 hours a day by armed guards, and surveillance cameras are installed along the perimeter of the territory with greenhouses. Without this, a license can not be obtained. Varieties of medical marijuana - you need a more or less stable content of certain cannabinoids, and preferably not those for which tourists travel to Amsterdam. Colin said that he buys seeds in the US, the Netherlands and Spain, but the selection is also in Israel. While it was not possible to bring out a variety that would not cause side effects in its raw form, eliminating pain. Therefore, all large volumes are sold to processors - thus hundreds of pharmacological start-ups, looking forward to fantastic profits. Until recently, vegetables and greens were considered the most profitable in Israeli agriculture, but now this is undoubtedly cannabis, Gehry Colin asserts. According to Colin, now he is paid 370 shekels for each patient he serves, regardless of the mass of raw materials that may be needed in a year, at least 30, at least 150 grams. Given that cannabis is actually a potential weed in a hot climate, the cost of its cultivation is reduced to the cost of water, greenhouses and seeds. In the near future, the local Ministry of Health will issue 26 more licenses, but since all beginners need experience, they will somehow be associated with eight pioneers. If now eight farms provide raw materials to more than 20,000 patients within the country, then with the advent of new industries, exports will become possible. Laws for the permission of deliveries to Australia and Canada are already being prepared. Moreover, in Germany in the near future are going to issue licenses to marijuana producers, and there is also a mandatory condition - experience, therefore all applications are still from Israeli companies. Local businessmen say that they too helped to write German laws. As in South Africa, where now only going to legalize medical marijuana. In the US, the same system - the right to grow in those states where there is legalization, only a few producers get. Grass to grow In three years, the market volume of medical marijuana in monetary terms will exceed $ 20 billion. This growth is almost 700% since 2016. By some estimates, by 2025 the legal cannabis market will reach $ 50 billion. So far, the main producer (and consumer) of this product is the US (almost 90% of the market). According to ProCon, in 2016, 1.246 million patients in the US received prescriptions for cannabis use. However, Israel remains the center of start-ups and research, as well as the production of medicines and raw materials. For the treatment of substances from cannabis of autism, epilepsy and psoriasis and other diseases, 120 projects are currently underway here, more than in any other country. This concentration, of course, attracts investment. This year, only US companies will invest in various Israeli research and development over $ 100 million, counted in iCAN, a private cannabis research center in Israel. They expect that in 2018-2019, investments will reach $ 1 billion.
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