“I have supported the export of medical cannabis from Israel all along, and I welcome the government’s approval today,” says Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon.
By Eytan Halon
https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Israel-gives-green-light-to-medical-cannabis-exports-578815
An employee tends to a medical cannabis plants at Pharmocann, an Israeli medical cannabis company in northern Israel January 24, 2019.
The government approved exports of Israeli-grown medical cannabis to the booming world-wide legal market on Sunday. It’s news that Israel’s pioneering cannabis producers have long awaited.
The global medical cannabis market was valued at $8.3 billion in 2017, and is projected to soar in value to some $28 billion by 2024, according to a recent report by Energias Market Research.
While Israel is world-renowned for its pioneering cannabis cultivation and extraction technologies, producers have been left frustrated in recent months as the government has repeatedly stalled on giving growers the green export light.
However, a bill that was passed unanimously by the Knesset last month — providing for the export of medical cannabis and implementing regulations for the licensing of medical cannabis businesses — assured producers that the wait was nearly over.
Licenses will be exclusively granted by the Ministry of Health and will require police approval.
“I have supported the export of medical cannabis from Israel all along, and I welcome the government’s approval today,” said Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon.
“The export of medical cannabis will give the State of Israel a huge advantage in connecting research and development with agriculture and the cannabis industry, it will bring significant foreign currency revenues into the state and will maximize the advantages that the State of Israel possesses throughout the production chain.”
The government’s decision was based on a recommendation from the Inter ministerial Committee of the Finance and Health ministries in August 2017, to allow the export of cannabis for medical purposes. It estimated that the state could earn between one to four billion shekels ($1.09 billion) per year from such exports.
The high-level committee cited the economic potential created by Israel’s many advantages in advanced regulation, research and development, clinical experience and climate that can be exploited by farmers, researchers and entrepreneurs to develop Israeli products for the international market.
“I supported the export of medical cannabis because of its economic contribution to the Israeli economy and following an agreement with the Ministry of Finance to direct some of the resources to the health system,” said Deputy Health Minister Yaakov Litzman.
“This is a dramatic step that was only approved after it passed all the necessary meticulous procedures by Israeli professionals, in full cooperation with the relevant government ministries.”
Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel said the export approval constituted an “historic message to farmers of Israel, young farmers, to patients, and the Israeli economy.”
There are currently eight companies cultivating cannabis for medical purposes in Israel, and dozens more have applied for approval to commence work in the field. Shares of cannabis producers on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange were buoyed by the announcement, and company executives — some cautiously — welcomed the government’s decision.
“We are thrilled by the government approval of medical cannabis exports from Israel,” said Cannassure Therapeutics Chairman Nir Peles.
“We think our experienced management team together with a strategic collaborative agreement with a Hadassah Hospital subsidiary, which includes distribution, places us at the forefront of the Israeli cannabis industry to seize business opportunities that will further benefit Cannassure Therapeutics and its shareholders,” Peles said.
“Israel’s success in approving exports does not end with the government’s decision – the great test is the time that will pass between the decision to write the regulations and the actual production,” said Cann10 Chairman Yossi Bornstein.
“We hope that, contrary to the nature of Israeli bureaucracy, this won’t be a long process. Otherwise, the State of Israel will lose more precious time on its way to becoming an important player in the global industry.”
Another company hoping to benefit from the export approval is InterCure, a medical cannabis company chaired by former prime minister Ehud Barak.
“We welcome the decision to approve the export of medical cannabis and are convinced that this is positive news for the State of Israel,” said Barak.
“InterCure, through Canndoc, is ready to export high-quality, pharma-grade medical cannabis to countries around the world and is pleased to accelerate production at its Israeli facilities to 100 tons.”
Attorney Hagit Weinstock of Tel Aviv-based Weinstock Zehavi & Co., a law firm representing a range of Israeli and international investors and companies in the field of medical cannabis, expects to see the first Israeli exports three to four months from now.
“The primary market for Israeli exports will be Europe, the biggest market in the world for medical cannabis,” Weinstock told The Jerusalem Post, highlighting Germany as a key potential customer.
“Exports will be on the basis of contracts between companies in Israel, who require export permits, and European companies, who need import permits. We are dealing with drugs so everything is tightly regulated, but they want Israeli products because the regulations here are very strict, and they believe in Israel’s pharmaceutical and agriculture knowledge.”