|
 A government statement announcing the vote said it could take months
for the legislation to make its way through parliament.
In the United States, 28 states have legalized marijuana for medical
use and since 2012, Colorado, Alaska, California, Maine,
Massachusetts, Nevada, Oregon and Washington, D.C. have also
approved marijuana for recreational use. The market there, by some
estimates, will reach $50 billion over the next decade.
Israel is widely regarded as one of the world leaders in medical
marijuana research, even though the local market is small. Only
23,000 people have Health Ministry permits to purchase medical
cannabis from nine licensed suppliers, creating a market of $15
million to $20 million at most.
Saul Kaye, CEO of iCAN, a private cannabis research hub in Israel,
said there are about 50 Israeli medical marijuana companies active
in many aspects of the industry, from agriculture to delivery
devices, such as inhalers.
Kaye estimated that international investments in Israeli companies
reached about $100 million in 2016.
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Last month, Israel moved toward decriminalizing small-scale personal
use of marijuana and authorities are supportive of research. Israeli
Health Minister Yakov Litzman supports medical cannabis usage and
has introduced steps to ease its prescription and sale.
Israeli growers work together with scientific institutions in
clinical trials and development of strains that treat a variety of
illnesses and disorders.
(Reporting by Maayan Lubell; Editing by Jeffrey Heller and Raissa
Kasolowsky)
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