Pubdate: Fri, 02 Nov 2012
Source: Daily Star, The (Lebanon)
Copyright: 2012 The Daily Star
Contact:  http://www.dailystar.com.lb/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/547
Author: Steve Weizman

ISRAELIS AIM TO 'FIX WORLD' WITH CUSTOM CANNABIS

KFAR BIRYA, Israel: At the end of an unpaved road, in a quiet suburb of 
a sleepy town in northern Israel, horticultural revolutionaries are 
growing a strain of cannabis they say relieves symptoms of some chronic 
illnesses but without the psychotic effects that can accompany regular weed.

Behind the fence at Tikkun Olam -- Hebrew for "fixing the world" --
the green-fingered staff say they have created an Israeli first, by
breeding a cannabis plant almost free of THC, tetrahydrocannabinol,
the substance that gives smokers their high but can also carry a
serious downside.

The hash with no high also removes a psychological barrier for those
who could benefit from its properties but are loath to use standard
marijuana, even with the blessing of the Israeli health ministry.

"We managed to isolate the molecules of THC and CBD," said Mor Cohen,
head of the growing facility on the edge of the Galilee town of Safed,
referring to cannabidiol, another component of cannabis, which can
help ease symptoms of diabetes and some psychiatric disorders.

While the small family-based firm has developed a variety which is
over 99 percent CBD, it has also cross-bred it with other varieties to
give plants with different mixes of the two ingredients, aimed at
helping patients with differing needs.

Getting the balance right, they say, can ease pain and stimulate
appetite, while reducing or eliminating unwanted effects.

"We have accumulated experience in treatment of some 2,000 patients
with varying symptoms; some with pain, others with constipation,
dizziness or nausea," Cohen told AFP inside a vast tented enclosure
with row upon row of plants giving off a heady, sickly sweet perfume.

"We know how to provide a solution, whether it's for Parkinson's
disease, for cancer, to increase appetite, problems of insomnia
related to post-traumatic stress disorder... for each and every illness."

"THC is the substance that stimulates appetite," said Tzahi Klein,
head of development. "CBD acts differently. For some people THC has
unwanted effects, (but) CBD reduces the psychoactive activity of the
THC.

"We have a range of plant varieties from full THC to a very high
proportion of CBD, and we can suit the relative percentages to
different patients."

The Hebrew term Tikkun Olam refers to a Jewish tradition of seeking to
make the world a better place through prayer and good deeds.

The firm's logo includes a verse from Psalm 118 which says: "This is
the Lord's doing; it is marvellous in our eyes," flanked by a
marijuana plant within a six-pointed Star of David.

To discourage unwelcome visitors, however, the site is secured behind
high fences protected by armed guards. And the buildings bear no
identifying marks.

In a small but spotless packing room reminiscent of movie depictions
of a dealer's apartment, large plastic bags of dried marijuana are
piled next to a set of scales, waiting to be packed into 10-gramme
"baggies," as Tikkun Olam calls them, for distribution to patients
holding a doctor's prescription.

For those unskilled in rolling their own or physically unable to do
so, two lab-coated women stand in a corner rolling elegant cigarettes
of chocolate brown paper with shiny gold tips.

"We find this service very useful to patients," Cohen
says.

Only 100 percent organic nutrients are used for the plants, and light
is from the sun, says Klein, adding that cannabis, as an alternative
to synthetic medicines, is green in more ways than one.

"The use of cannabis reduces the use of other medicines... medicines
which pollute the environment, which we know are polluting water
systems," he told AFP.

Information Minister Yuli Edelstein, while supportive of medical
marijuana in general, and the work of Tikkun Olam in particular, says
the government is not considering blanket legalisation of cannabis
use.

"The new thing here is that what has always been thought of as just a
drug, a negative thing, has become -- through the good work of the
growers here -- a medicine which is fact not a narcotic," he said on a
visit to the site.

"We are not dealing at the moment with the legalisation of
marijuana."

According to figures published earlier this year by Sheba Medical
Centre and the Israel Cancer Association, medical marijuana has been
approved for use by about 6,000 Israelis suffering from various illnesses.
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MAP posted-by: Matt