Israeli Research Project Established to Fund Study on Cannabis and Asthma
CIITECH, an Israeli-British cannabis biotech company, announced on Tuesday that it will fund a research project with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem exploring viable treatments of asthma with medical cannabis.
Roughly 300 million people worldwide—25 million of whom are Americans—are suffering from Asthma. Annually, 250,000 experience premature death due to the disease.
Israel is quickly becoming a hub for studies on medical cannabis. Although recreational cannabis is illegal, in May, a law decriminalizing cannabis went into effect which allows Israeli citizens to possess less than 15 grams of cannabis without fear of imprisonment. However, possession will result in fines. And in August, a committee of Israeli Health and Finance ministries approved a measure allowing the international exportation of medical cannabis. The measure is expected to generate up to $4 billion a year through the exportations.
Clifton Flack, a Brit and founder of CIITECH, says he was drawn to Israel because of its progressive cannabis environment.
“It’s where [medical cannabis research] began. It’s where it continues at an accelerated pace. It’s the only [country] with legal, approved and cannabis-friendly R&D centers in the world, and it’s cost-effective,” Flack said in a statement for JNS. “Israel’s scientists are dynamic outside-the-box thinkers.”
The scheduled research project will take place at Hebrew University’s Multidisciplinary Center on Cannabinoid Research and will be led by Raphael Mechoulam, an Israeli organic chemist best known for isolating tetrahydrocannabinol or THC, and Francesca Levi-Schaffer, a leader in asthma research.
“CBD is proven to have anti-inflammatory properties,” said Flack in a statement for JNS. “Since asthma and other respiratory conditions present themselves as inflammation of the airway, it’s long been believed that cannabis might be a good therapeutic candidate.”
The results of the research project won’t be available for some time, but CIITECH currently distributes cannabidiol—or CBD—products throughout the United Kingdom. The company plans to expand internationally in the near future.
