Repairing the World

An Israeli study concludes that cannabis eases suffering for cancer patients

A predominately conservative, fundamentally religious nation like Israel isn’t the place you think of when it comes to the subject of medical cannabis. Think again.

In a recent study conducted with the assistance of the Israel Cancer Association by Dr. Ido Wolf, director of oncology at the Sheba Cancer Center in Tel Hashomer, Israel, 264 patients who had been diagnosed with cancer were prescribed cannabis to treat their symptoms.

Wolf reported his findings to the Israeli Oncologists Union Conference in Eilat and the media. The results showed that out of the 264 patients who had been prescribed medical cannabis, more than 61 percent reported “a significant improvement in their quality of life,” while 56 percent “noted an improvement in their ability to manage pain.”

It was also reported that “67 percent were in favor of the treatment,” and that “65 percent said they would recommend it to other patients.” An average of 325 days passed before patients required cannabis to treat pain and nausea. In conclusion, the study determined that cannabis was an “effective” treatment for symptoms of the disease, and that, “the treatment should be offered to patients in earlier stages of cancer.”

While the American government routinely ignores recommendations by doctors in this country and around the world that cannabis be used to treat the symptoms of cancer, in contrast Israel’s Health Ministry is already working in conjunction with Knesset’s Labor, Social Affairs, and Health Committee to regulate the production and quality of medical marijuana for medical use.

At Sheba Hospital in Ora Shamai, plans are underway to allow doctors to prescribe a medical cannabis preroll to patients for pain and nausea relief.

“It’s certainly a dilemma, but it’s the lesser of two evils,” says Dr. Itay Gur-Arie, the head of Sheba’s pain management unit. “When you’re talking about smoking a [preroll] or two a day, we don’t think this causes short-term harm to the patients.”

The Israel Association for the Advancement of Medical Cannabis is currently working on a program to donate funds for the purchase of vaporizers for hospitals who provide medical-grade cannabis to patients. Other charitable organizations, including one group called Tikkum Olam, provide free medical cannabis to up to 700 patients suffering from cancer and multiple sclerosis, provided they are licensed by the government to use medical cannabis.

Six thousand Israeli citizens currently possess official government approval to use cannabis. Licensed patients can either grow their own plants at home or purchase them from one of a dozen clinics located throughout the country. The Israeli Health Ministry has officially acknowledged that cannabis has medicinal value, and intends to grant up to 40,000 more citizens license to use cannabis accordingly to newly amended Health Ministry guidelines.

Cannabis is a solution, not a problem. Dr. Wolf’s study isn’t the first, but it’s certainly conclusive. While other countries around the world are moving forward in allowing their citizens access to a healing plant that has been scientifically proven to improve the quality of life, the federal government still continues to ignore science so they can prosecute cancer patients and close down sources of medicine to alleviate suffering.

The Fix is In

Tikkum Olam, Israel’s largest supplier of medical cannabis according to The Jerusalem Post, takes its name from a very appropriate Hebrew phrase. Tikkum olam is typically translated as “repairing the world, and the term has been taken by some Jews (both secular and religious) as motivation to getting involved in social justice causes. Thought the term dates from the rabbinical period—and is not found in the Bible—and has evolved over the centuries, for many it is considered a de facto pillar of Judaism.