Israel Desks - February 2020 Edition

5 Prospects Getting Higher Countries where medical cannabis is legal or partly so* Argentina Australia Canada Chile Colombia Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Finland France* Germany Greece Israel Italy Jamaica Lesotho Luxembourg Macedonia Malta Mexico Netherlands Norway Peru Poland Romania San Marino Slovenia* Spain* Switzerland Turkey Uruguay Zimbabwe Predicted tomore than triple to reach US$ 44.4 Billion by 2024 f romUS$ 13.4 Billion in 2018, the global medical cannabis market is coming into its own, with cannabis for medical use approved in over 30 countries, from Argentina to Zimbabwe. There are a number of key drivers: The therapeutic benefits of cannabis for a range of diseases and symptoms, such as cancer, depression, arthritis, diabetes, epilepsy, MS, Alzheimer’s and many more; a steadily rising ageing population has boosted demand for medical cannabis as older patients are more likely to require physician visits; more clinical trials, investment in R&D activities and the commercialization of cannabis-based products are further expected to catalyze the growth of the market. That the Israeli cannabis market is teeming with potential is of little surprise. “Israeli R&Dstart-ups include agri-tech,med-tech and life sciences companies, fields that are the basis for the cannabis industry,” say s Eitan Shmueli, Partner at Israeli law firm Lipa Meir & Co . “Ever since Prof. Raphael Mechoulam of Source: Wikipedia; Countries’ cannabis policies; independent research