DECEMBER 12, 2018


CFHU Cannabis Mission visits Hebrew University: L-R: Dr. Mona Dvir-Ginzberg, Head, Cartilage Biology Laboratory; Danielle Pollack, Managing Director, Equinoxe LifeCare; Monette Malewski, National Chair, CFHU; David Wood, Senior Associate, Borden Ladner Gervais LLP; Boris Gorbatyuk, Consulting President & Founder, JPSG; Ariel Lewinski, President, Lewinski Consulting Corporation; Damian Kettlewell, CEO, Bliss Co; Prof. Yossi Tam, Chairman, Center for Cannabinoid Research; Prof. Raphael Mechoulam, Father of Cannabis Research; Larry Cole, VP Hollyweed North; Debbie Dankoff, VP National Development, CFHU;Jennifer Archibald, CFO Cardiome; Prof. Esther Shohami, School of Pharmacy – Institute for Drug Research;Helen Hatzis, COO CFHU; and Neil Hazan, Partner, Borden Ladner Gervais LLP..

Dear Friends,
With the recent legalization of cannabis in Canada, the drug, once known for the high it provides, is now being recognized for its health benefits.

Members of CFHU’s first Cannabis Mission to Hebrew University recently got an in-depth, up-close look at the intersection of agriculture, research, business and society, associated with the plant with the longest history of cultivation by man.

The four-day mission, led by Montreal Board member Neil Hazan, brought together people from diverse areas of business with an interest in cannabis and provided them an opportunity to meet with Professor Raphael Mechoulam, widely known as the “father of marijuana research.” In the early 1960s, he discovered marijuana’s psychoactive ingredient, THC, and its structure of CBD, its non-psychoactive ingredient, which is often used for medicinal purposes.

The participants, many of whom were experiencing Israel for the first time, learned about advances in using CBD in the treatment of traumatic brain injury (TBI), the leading cause of death in young individuals. Researchers at Hebrew University’s Multidisciplinary Center on Cannabinoid Research showcased their work, explaining the drug is used in treating obesity, mental illness (including depression) and brain disorders (including Alzheimer’s, epilepsy and Parkinson’s).

A visit to Israel’s leading technology transfer company, Hebrew University’s Yissum, offered the group a chance to see first-hand why Israel is considered the start-up nation and how it’s leading the way in the medicalization of marijuana.

This mission created space for meaningful engagement with HU and Israel through learning and discovery. CFHU is committed to providing similar opportunities in the future and welcomes your suggestions for other trips.

CFHU thanks everyone who participated in the Cannabis Mission.

For more information, please contact info@cfhu.org.

Please consider supporting the Multidisciplinary Center on Cannabinoid Research at Hebrew University, Yissum, and other areas, by making a gift today.

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