Reuters
Israel,
a leader in marijuana research and health technology, is attracting
international investment as it tries to position itself as a
cutting-edge exporter in the rapidly-growing market for medical-grade
cannabis.
With
estimates that the global market for medical marijuana could reach $50
billion by 2025, the Israeli government is set to allow the local
industry to start exporting and projects annual revenues in the hundreds
of millions of dollars.
Medical
cannabis is a relatively new field with no universal clinical standard.
Israel aims to fill the void by combining its expertise in agriculture,
technology, and cannabis-based medicine, said Yuval Landschaft, head of
the health ministry's medical cannabis unit (IMCA).
"In
the United States, for example, they use recreational marijuana for
medical use—that's like making chicken soup when you have a cold,"
Landschaft told Reuters. "We're the ones making the antibiotics."
The
strategy is to create medical-grade cannabis with quality and efficacy
ensured along the entire supply chain from cultivation to manufacture
and distribution.
In
contrast to the United States, which is currently the biggest legal
marijuana market, authorities in Israel are liberal in their support of
research and development.
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Licensed
marijuana growers work with scientific institutions in clinical trials
towards the development of cannabis strains that treat a variety of
illnesses and disorders.
There
are about 120 studies ongoing in Israel, including clinical trials
looking at the effects of cannabis on autism, epilepsy, psoriasis, and
tinnitus.
The
health ministry wants to share its acquired knowledge and train doctors
from abroad. Talks are underway with Australia, Germany, Brazil, and
others, Landschaft said.
EXPORT
The government gave the go-ahead in February to legislation that would allow export.
More
than 500 Israeli companies have applied for licenses to grow,
manufacture and export cannabis products, according to government
officials, and some are already capitalizing on the booming U.S. market.
In
the past year, U.S. and other firms have invested about $100 million to
license Israeli medical marijuana patents, cannabis agro-tech startups
and firms developing delivery devices such as inhalers, said Saul Kaye,
chief executive of iCAN, a private cannabis research hub in Israel.
Kaye expects investment to grow ten-fold and reach $1 billion over the next two years.
Tikun
Olam, Israel's largest grower, has partnered with U.S. companies to
cultivate marijuana in four U.S. states, chief executive Aharon Lutzky
said. Pending government approval, it hopes to export to Europe and
South America.
The biggest marijuana market for now is the United States, with estimates that it will surpass $20 billion by 2020.
But
importing cannabis to the United States is illegal under federal law.
The only way to get around the ban is to receive approval from the U.S.
Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Britain's
GW Pharmaceuticals' Epidiolex—an experimental cannabis-based drug to
treat epilepsy—could be the first to get the green light.
"The
medical cannabis industry is much larger than the U.S.," said Matthew
Ginder, whose Florida-based law firm represents cannabis businesses,
including in Israel.
Growing
acceptance of medical marijuana creates opportunities in countries that
have legalized medical marijuana but have not developed the
infrastructure, he said.
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