Many Farmers in the North wish to export marijuana, a move that could increase their revenues tremendously.

Galilee Farmers want to grow medical cannabis, yet the Israeli government forbids it. The situation today is that only eight farmers have permission to grow cannabis: The government is opposed to increasing the number of licenses to the dismay of farmers who wish to increase their profits. Galilee Farmers are especially interested in exporting cannabis overseas. Dubi Amitay, President of the Israeli Farmers' Association added: "The State of Israel is preventing the export of Israeli cannabis, which could bring millions of dollars to the state and the farmers, I am not sure why they delay it."

One of the most revolutionary social movements in the past decade has been the growing acceptance of the consumption of marijuana in Western society, including the substance’s legalization in U.S. states such as Colorado and Washington. While marijuana is illegal for general use in Israel, the Jewish state is considered to be one of the world’s most forward-thinking countries when it comes to medical marijuana, with scientists and researchers flocking there to learn more about the benefits of the drug.

The legalization of marijuana, particularly for medical use, has made it onto the agenda of this election, with most parties addressing the issue, and several adopting a more liberal position than they have in the past.

“It seems that someone – I don’t know who – has invested a great deal of money over the past two years in a campaign to promote marijuana in Israel,” says strategic consultant Itay Ben Horin, who has led many political campaigns in the past. Still, he says, “You still don’t see candidates for prime minister presenting that as part of their agenda.”

Most political parties have some position regarding marijuana use — with the exception of Likud, whose officials chose not to comment or respond to Haaretz’s query on the issue.

Cannabidiol (CBD) has been the focus of many medical cannabis studies, and continues to prove itself as a powerful anti-inflammatory drug. What makes CBD even more desirable for some patients is that it does not cause the psychoactive effects associated with tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).

OWC Pharmaceutical Research Corp’s (OTCQB: OWCP) wholly owned subsidiary of One World Cannabis Ltd., an Israeli research and development company focused on cannabis-based products and treatments, announced that it would be a senior presenter at the “Medical Cannabis and Cannabinoids” Conference organized by the Czech Republic Ministry on March 4-7, 2015.

It’s only a matter of time until marijuana will be legal everywhere. Colorado and Washington are clearly only the beginning. For now medical marijuana which is getting legalized around the world and several Israeli forms have already placed themselves at the forefront of cannabis research.

The Hebrew University tech transfer company will collaborate on a novel delivery system.

Hebrew University of Jerusalem technology transfer company Yissum Research Development Co. Ltd. has signed an exclusive licensing and collaboration agreement with PhytoTech Medical Ltd. for the development, manufacturing and marketing of a novel delivery system to enhance the bioavailability of cannabidiol (CBD) and/or THC. These are the active ingredients in cannabis, for the treatment of various medical indications. The novel formulations are based on oral and transbuccal delivery technologies developed by Professors Abraham Domb and Amnon Hoffman of the Hebrew University Faculty of Medicine, School of Pharmacy, Institute of Drug Research.

With the promise of weed in the future, a new stash of campaign funds could help the party blaze its way into the Knesset, though they’re still a longshot at best.

A promise of marijuana in the future in exchange for campaign donations today helped the Aleh Yarok (“Green Leaf”) party net more than NIS 100,000 in donations this week.

The campaign, launched in a YouTube video on Saturday, promises donors who front it campaign donations that they will receive marijuana if and when the day comes that the plant is legalized in Israel.

Hinduism, Judaism, and the Rastafari movement of Jamaica may seem on the surface to have nothing in common with each other. But if we take a closer look there are things that the three spiritual traditions have in common. These commonalities grew out the colonial experience of Jamaicans.

Israel sets a new standard for legal medical marijuana research, production and sales

Just over six years ago, in the lush Upper Galilee of northern Israel, the nation’s first large-scale harvest of legal medical marijuana was flowering on the roof deck of Tzahi Cohen’s parents’ house, perched on a cliff overlooking the bright-green farming village of Birya. Until then, fewer than 100 Israeli patients suffering from a short list of ailments had been allowed to grow the plants for themselves, but this marked the first harvest by a licensed grower.

If you met him on the street, Professor Raphael Mechoulam might seem like any other Jerusalemite grandfather. But behind his serene smile and calming voice is the brilliant mind of the man who kick-started medical marijuana research in Israel and the world.

Since the inception of his research in the 60s, Professor Mechoulam has been nominated for over 25 academic awards, the most recent being the Rothschild Prize in Chemical Sciences and Physical Sciences in 2012.

I met Mechoulam in his office at the Hebrew University Medical Campus where he was enthusiastically preparing his next lecture, despite the fact that he officially retired over 15 years ago.