Bill Nye Explores Medical Cannabis in Israel
In a recent episode of Bill Nye Saves the World, a Netflix Original, Nye sent a correspondent Derek Muller to Israel for a segment called “How is Israel healing the world with marijuana.”
The Emmy-nominated series has focused on cannabis in past episodes. Nye explained how conducting research on medical cannabis is easier in Israel than in America because of much fewer regulatory hurdles.
“It is literally easier to study meth” than cannabis in America, Nye said—and he’s right.
While methamphetamine is commonly accepted as a destructive drug—its medical properties are recognized by the federal government and it’s available for prescription as Adderall or Dexedrine for young children. Cannabis, on the other hand, is lumped together with drugs that carry no medical value like heroin as a Schedule I drug. But in Israel, medical cannabis research is flourishing.
Nye’s correspondent visited the pharmacological laboratory for Tikun Olam, one of the largest medical cannabis companies worldwide. Tikun olam means “repair the world” in Hebrew. Tikun Olam CEO Aharon Lutzky explained that the company has become the largest cannabis farm in Israel thanks to the Israeli government’s open cooperation with medical cannabis research.
Nye’s show went on to explain that although the United States is 473 times the size of Israel, the tiny nation is miles ahead of America in terms of medical cannabis research.
Part of the reason Israel excels in medical cannabis research is because of the pioneering efforts of Hebrew University of Jerusalem Professor Raphael Mechoulam. During the 1960s, Mechoulam’s team of scientists isolated THC and CBD.
Nye’s work is so important, because he’s illuminating the progress that’s going on in Israel, and most Americans aren’t aware of it. With the help of people like Nye, Israel is poised to continue “healing the world” through groundbreaking medical cannabis research.
