Hebrew University Professor Raphael Mechoulam, considered the “father of cannabis research,” has died in Israel.
He was 92.
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In the 1960s, Mechoulam and his team of researchers began cannabinoid experiments in Israel, becoming the first to isolate delta-9 THC, the psychoactive component of cannabis.
Among his other achievements: designing and synthesizing several novel cannabinoids with therapeutic potential as pharmaceutical drugs.
“Most of the human and scientific knowledge about cannabis was accumulated thanks to Prof. Mechoulam,” Hebrew University President Asher Cohen said in a statement.
“He paved the way for groundbreaking studies and initiated scientific cooperation between researchers around the world.”
Mechoulam was nominated for more than 25 academic awards, including:
The Heinrich Wieland Prize in 2004. An honorary doctorate from Complutense University in Madrid in 2006. The Israel Prize in Exact Sciences, Chemistry, in 2000.
The medical cannabis pioneer was a founding member
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