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Cannabis research pioneer hopes latest discovery is not overlooked — again
Decades after Raphael Mechoulam linked CBD with treating epilepsy, his latest finding may help develop new drugs for psoriasis, arthritis and anxiety.
Raphael Mechoulam, an Israeli organic chemist and professor of medicinal chemistry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, remembers the letdown after his groundbreaking discoveries surrounding the structure of the cannabis compounds CBD and THC in 1963 and 1964, followed by clinical tests with CBD published in 1980.
“Not much happened,” Mechoulam said, noting that it would take more than 30 years before his clinical work on using CBD, or cannabidiol, to treat epilepsy became widely accepted. Greenwich Biosciences, which is owned by GW Pharmaceuticals, was able to develop the first cannabis-derived drug that built on Mechoulam’s research. The drug, Epidiolex, treats seizures associated with two rare forms of epilepsy and was approved by the FDA only last year.
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The ban on pot goes back at least to the turn of the 20th Century & William Randolph Hearst using his media influence. Cannabis (hemp) fiber makes a better quality newsprint than the forests of trees Hearst owned in the Pacific Northwest & Hearst didn't want the competition.
Decades after Raphael Mechoulam linked CBD with treating epilepsy, his latest finding may help develop new drugs for psoriasis, arthritis and anxiety.
Raphael Mechoulam, an Israeli organic chemist and professor of medicinal chemistry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, remembers the letdown after his groundbreaking discoveries surrounding the structure of the cannabis compounds CBD and THC in 1963 and 1964, followed by clinical tests with CBD published in 1980.
“Not much happened,” Mechoulam said, noting that it would take more than 30 years before his clinical work on using CBD, or cannabidiol, to treat epilepsy became widely accepted. Greenwich Biosciences, which is owned by GW Pharmaceuticals, was able to develop the first cannabis-derived drug that built on Mechoulam’s research. The drug, Epidiolex, treats seizures associated with two rare forms of epilepsy and was approved by the FDA only last year.
===============================================
The ban on pot goes back at least to the turn of the 20th Century & William Randolph Hearst using his media influence. Cannabis (hemp) fiber makes a better quality newsprint than the forests of trees Hearst owned in the Pacific Northwest & Hearst didn't want the competition.