Israel: Medical Cannabis Exports Begin

May 5, 2020

Israeli company InterCure has announced that its subsidiary Canndoc has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Canada’s Tilray for the import and export of medical cannabis. Canndoc has the option to import 2.5 tons of high-quality cannabis from Tilray’s facilities in Portugal , with the first shipment of 250 kilograms already on its way to Israel.

The cannabis will be sold as a finished product in Israeli pharmacies and will be the first medical cannabis commercially imported into Israel. According to Reuters, the Israeli company will also export up to 5 tons of cannabis for use in products marketed by Tilray, provided Canndoc receives an export license.

Canndoc will supply approximately 1.5 tons by the end of the second quarter. “The joint operations enable the two companies to offer a variety of high-quality products to patients in Israel and, in the near future, the world,” said Canndoc Chairman Ehud Barak, a former Israeli prime minister. The Israeli medical cannabis market is expected to reach 100,000 patients by the end of 2020.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in late February that his government is exploring legalizing recreational cannabis, following a model similar to Canada’s. Justice Minister Amir Ohana “has begun work on the issue, and will lead a committee that includes professionals and Green Leaf Party Chairman Oren Leibovich, who will investigate importing the Canadian model for regulating a legal market in Israel,” Netanyahu tweeted.