Medical cannabis occupies a strange legal limbo in Israel. There is no law on the books formally allowing regulating its medicinal use, but the country’s Ministry of Health does issue licenses allowing thousands of patients to receive the plant. And one operation–a secret, scientific/spiritual facility called Tikkun Olam–is trying to pioneer advances in cannabis technology in an effort to “heal the world.”
Among the strains being developed at Tikkun Olam are Eran Almog, said to have the highest THC content and psychoactive of any variety in the world, and Avidekel, a THC-deficient, CBD-heavy strain that could impart weed’s medical benefits without getting you high. Bummer.
Israel’s medical professionals seem to approve of the work being done, including the staff of a retirement home in Kibbutz Naan where toking up has become quite fashionable. Of the plants health benefits, chief nurse said “It was as if there were divine intervention.”
(Photo: Mario Antonio Pena Zapatera/Flickr)
