Pubdate: Fri, 15 Jul 2011
Source: Jerusalem Post (Israel)
Copyright: 2011 The Jerusalem Post
Contact: http://info.jpost.com/C002/Services/Feedback/editors.html
Website: http://www.jpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/516
Author: Judy Siegel
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)

FUTURE OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA IN ISRAEL UP FOR GOV'T DEBATE

Government expected to decide on establishing a state agency which 
will be responsible for authorizing, processing requests for medical cannabis.

In two weeks, the government will decide whether to establish a state 
agency responsible for the authorization and processing of requests 
for medical marijuana for relieving patients with pain that responds 
to no other treatment.

At a conference on Wednesday at Hadassah-University Hospital, Ein 
Kerem, Dr. Yehuda Baruch, a psychiatrist at the Abarbanel Mental 
Health Center in Bat Yam who has in the last two years 
single-handedly been responsible for the matter, predicted the number 
of authorizations could reach 40,000 in five years.

Currently, only 6,000 patients a year request and receive medical marijuana.

The event was attended by Health Ministry officials, doctors and 
Hebrew University's Prof. Raphael Mechoullam, the researcher who 
discovered the structure of the active ingredient in cannabis that 
relieves chronic pain.

There is debate in the government over whether to allow local, 
supervised growers to continue growing it or to import high-quality marijuana.

The process must be strictly supervised to prevent marijuana from 
"leaking out" to drug users who have not been authorized to use it.

Most of the patients suffer from cancer, multiple sclerosis and other 
diseases involving serious chronic pain.

Prof. Elyad Davidson, head of Hadassah's pain unit, said clinical 
studies have shown long-term side effects from medical cannabis-use 
are controversial and not clear.

Among the possible effects are addiction, psychosis and "gradiating" 
to more serious drugs. It is still not known, said Davidson, whether 
new forms of taking medical cannabis, including in the form of oil 
and cookies -- are as effective as conventional means, such as smoking it.
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