Israel to Allow Medical Cannabis Exports

[dropcap class=”kp-dropcap”]O[/dropcap]n Jan. 23, Israel’s Finance Ministry announced that the country’s cabinet is expected to approve a law to allow exports of medical cannabis. For years, Israel has led the world in medical cannabis research, mostly due to the government’s unique willingness to update its federal laws to allow advanced research. In the United States, for instance, medical cannabis research is often limited to questionnaires and study participants are rarely supplied with standardized cannabis directly from research teams.

The new law passed its third reading last month in the Knesset, Israel’s unicameral parliament, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to sign the bill on Jan. 27. Haaretz reports that The Finance Ministry valued the potential of allowing those kind of exports at up to 4 billion shekels ($1,088,800,000.00) per year. It would usher in a new era for the cannabis market overseas.

The new law will open the floodgates to international medical cannabis business. “The law is expected to open a new market for Israeli producers, which is expected to increase investment in the areas of agriculture, research and production and to create new jobs,” the ministry said.

Almost immediately, medical cannabis related stocks listed on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. Many publicly traded medical cannabis companies enjoyed a sudden rush to invest in cannabis. Israel-linked companies that saw the largest gains include InterCure, Amir Marketing and CannAssure. American companies are also celebrating the news. Israel-based venture capital firm OurCrowd announced that it would be partnering with 7thirty, a cannabis-related business in Boulder, Colorado.

Within a short amount of years, the global medical cannabis market could rival enormous businesses like Bank of America. Exports are expected to begin mid-2019 to countries across the globe. Only countries that require licenses from health regulators will be allowed to accept medical cannabis exports from Israel.