Meet The World’s Biggest Marijuana Expert…An Elderly Jewish Grandfather [VIDEO]
When you think about medical marijuana, or pot in any way, you typically picture Cheech and Chong, not an elderly Yiddish speaking grandfather. However, according to the Jerusalem Post, Rafael Mechoulam, a geriatric research scientist from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, known as the “Marijauna Maven,” is the go to guy when it comes to issues of medical pot.
As a research scientist in the 1960s, Mechoulam was tasked with cracking pot, determining its active chemical ingredients by the American National Institute of Health (NIH), after the agency received a mandate to look into the drug.
He had initially been told that the United States was not interesting in his research into pot. However, he soon received a call back from the Feds, telling him they wanted to sponsor his research.
“I asked them what had happened,” Mechoulam told the Jerusalem Post, “and it turned out that the son of somebody who was important, a senator or somebody else [like that], had called NIH and asked, what do you know about cannabis? His son had been caught smoking pot and he wanted to know whether his brain was being damaged. They didn’t know anything about it because nobody was doing any research on cannabis in the US.”
After discovering and synthesizing THC, the active ingredient responsible for your high when you toke up, Mechoulam continued his research, eventually becoming known as the world’s foremost expert on pot.
A staunch advocate for medical marijuana use, Mechoulam seems happy with the progress that Israel has made in this field. While every prescription for pot has to be approved by the Ministry of Health in Jerusalem, cannabis use for medicinal purposes is expanding in Israel, where it is legal, if highly regulated.
During an experiment, in which children undergoing chemotherapy for cancer were being given THC extracted from marijuana plants to help with their nausea, he said, one of his colleagues told him that he could no longer, in good conscience, prevent the control group from using pot, as it was just so effective in calming the negative side effects of their treatment.
All this just goes to show that you can’t judge by appearances, and that the elderly man hobbling down the street next to you might just be a little bit coller than you thought.
Tags : hebrew university, legal pot, marijuana, mary jane, medical marijuana, pot, pot legalization, rafael mechoulam, thc
Posted: May 9, 2012
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May 9, 2012
the majority of the patients at my collective are elderly, or at least older.. interesting as I live in quite a conservative community..
May 9, 2012
I don't get why the U.S. doesn't just do the research. Most politicians say to people who want to legalize marijuana or at least legalize medical marijuana, "There is no scientific evidence that Marijuana has any medicinal value". Well, if that's true then do the research.
May 9, 2012
If they legalize pot. Millions of dollars will be lost by the pharmaceutical companies, because, from what I have read, There are very few things that pot can't cure or at least help with. Pharmaceutical companies are not allowed to patent natural substances.
May 9, 2012
Lee Strabel Exactly. They lose money if it gets legalized, that's what it's all about.
May 9, 2012
Who ever wrote this should have used spell checker..lmao.
May 10, 2012
THESE days the people are making money hand over fist with the cost of pot. during the 60s and 70s an once of pot cost 15 or 20 dollars today an 18 of an once cost 40 to 80 dollars. the people today say that the pot is so much better well I don`t think it`s that much better to warrant a price increase of that amount back then your mouth got just as dry and u got a good high and if u want something a lil bit stronger there was always hashish for about 7 dollars a gram I don`t know what hash cost today but I can bet it`s more then 7 dollars.i don`t see the price increase for what? it`s a plant that can grow wild.
May 10, 2012
that is who is behind keeping it illegal the growers, the police, the oil companies, and even cotton growers
who would lose money if Hemp were legal. And pot would sell for about 15-25 dollars an ounce.
70% of all Americans think it should be legal, so what is the problem.
May 10, 2012
Lee Strabel and chris, it wont be legalized because of what you said and because they wouldnt be able to regulate it.
May 10, 2012
Logan Chesley I think they could regulate it actually if they could figure it out. If they did regulate they would tax the shit out of it.
May 10, 2012
Marijuana is the safest drug with actual benefits for the user as opposed to alcohol which is dangerous, causes addiction, birth defects, and affects literally every organ in the body. Groups are organizing all over the country to speak their minds on reforming pot laws. I drew up a very cool poster featuring Uncle Willie Nelson and The Teapot Party for the cause which you can check out on my artist’s blog at http://dregstudiosart.blogspot.com/2011/01/vote-teapot-2011.html Drop in and let me know what you think!
May 10, 2012
Marijuana is the safest drug with actual benefits for the user as opposed to alcohol which is dangerous, causes addiction, birth defects, and affects literally every organ in the body. Groups are organizing all over the country to speak their minds on reforming pot laws. I drew up a very cool poster featuring Uncle Willie Nelson and The Teapot Party for the cause which you can check out on my artist’s blog at http://dregstudiosart.blogspot.com/2011/01/vote-teapot-2011.html Drop in and let me know what you think!
May 10, 2012
Marijuana is the safest drug with actual benefits for the user as opposed to alcohol which is dangerous, causes addiction, birth defects, and affects literally every organ in the body. Groups are organizing all over the country to speak their minds on reforming pot laws. I drew up a very cool poster featuring Uncle Willie Nelson and The Teapot Party for the cause which you can check out on my artist’s blog at http://dregstudiosart.blogspot.com/2011/01/vote-teapot-2011.html Drop in and let me know what you think!
May 10, 2012
Marijuana is the safest drug with actual benefits for the user as opposed to alcohol which is dangerous, causes addiction, birth defects, and affects literally every organ in the body. Groups are organizing all over the country to speak their minds on reforming pot laws. I drew up a very cool poster featuring Uncle Willie Nelson and The Teapot Party for the cause which you can check out on my artist’s blog at http://dregstudiosart.blogspot.com/2011/01/vote-teapot-2011.html Drop in and let me know what you think!
May 11, 2012
i can relate! my spelling is awful!
May 11, 2012
Peter's Page .. but this person is a "professional writer"..
May 12, 2012
When people are sick, in pain and desperate they will try anything . . . even conservatives.
May 13, 2012
Chris, they`ve already done alot of the research, and it horrifies them. Because the vast majortiy of the science supports one conclusion; cannabis as medicine has gone FAR beyond just pain relief. 10,000 + studies since 1991 have demonstrated that certain natural cannabinoids occurring in the plant are the most powerful and broad spectrum anti-tumoral substances ever found. Additionally it has been found that cannabinoids are anti-aging compounds in that they are neuro-protective by their powerful anti-oxidant properties.
So much so that the gov. has a US Patent on some of these cannabinoids U.S. Patent # 6630507 "In 2003, the U.S. Government as represented by the Department of Health and Human Services filed for, and was awarded a patent on cannabinoids as antioxidants and neuroprotectants." ……..CANNABIS KILLS CANCER……bottomline