The Godfather of Cannabis Research: Raphael Mechoulam

The Godfather of Cannabis Research: Raphael Mechoulam

Early Life

Raphael Mechoulam was born in 1930 in Sofia, Bulgaria to a Jewish family. His father was a doctor that served as the head of a local hospital while his mother studied in Berlin. Mechoulam’s family was forced to relocate to a small village in the Balkans that was under Soviet control following the rise of the Nazi Party and subsequent anti-Semetic legislation that followed. 

After the war, Mechoulam moved to Israel where he began to study insecticides. Driven by a deep fascination with the intricate chemical structure of plants and a pitiful lack of research surrounding cannabis in particular, he decided that it would be an interesting project. 

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Early Breakthroughs

Israel, like much of the world during the 1960s, was experiencing a serious cultural and political shift spurred by global societal conflicts such as the Vietnam War. Mechoulam and his team were eager to cut through the red tape that inhibited structured cannabis research. In his own words he asserted “Yes, I broke the law, but I apologized and explained what I was trying to do.” Thankfully, Mechoulam’s dedication to research yielded several breakthroughs that forever shaped public consciousness and awareness about the inner workings of cannabis and its interactive effects with the human body.

In 1964, Mechoulam was the first person ever to isolate tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana. He also isolated cannabidiol (CBD) and identified it as a crucial component of cannabis. Prior to this breakthrough, the scientific community had no clue as to why the plant interacted with the human body in such a way that created an evident “high” experienced soon after cannabis consumption. In the ensuing decades Raphael Mechoulam spearheaded global cannabis research and was able to isolate many of the compounds we know to be inherent to cannabis. The discovery and isolation of these traits paved the way for future cannabis research, empowering future generations of scientists to conduct further studies. 

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The Entourage Effect

In 1998, Mechoulam and Shimon Ben-Shabat proposed that the endocannabinoid system exhibits an "entourage effect," where various "inactive" metabolites and related molecules significantly boost the activity of the main endogenous cannabinoids, anandamide and 2-arachidonoylglycerol. In layman's terms, they asserted that broad spectrum or full spectrum forms of cannabis create synergistic effects for the user that enhance the therapeutic qualities more so than isolated forms, such as THC or CBD. Several human experiments have been conducted that concluded patients administered broad spectrum cannabis experienced more positive effects than isolated cannabis products (THC and CBD primarily). However, more research and experiments using larger sample groups must be conducted to understand the entourage effect’s relationship with the endocannabinoid system.

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AltSol RSO

AltSol’s new broad spectrum RSO product line offers our consumers a pathway to experience first-hand and determine if broad spectrum cannabis products work for them. Our cultivation and genetics team carefully developed our RSO product line to retain a wide range of cannabinoids and terpenes, maximizing the entourage effect that Mechoulam and others have identified to be more therapeutic than isolated cannabinoid compounds. We can not wait for it to hit the shelves, offering both new and seasoned users a chance to explore the potential advantages of broad-spectrum RSO.

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Final Thoughts 

Raphael Mechoulam forever altered the landscape of cannabis research and the cannabis industry. His passion for plant structures and dedication to unlocking the mystery surrounding cannabis enables modern day enthusiasts to understand why the plant affects us the way it does. The groundwork he laid down for future research and subsequent findings provided lawmakers with evidence to combat the anti-cannabis hysteria that has dominated political entities globally for the past 100 plus years. Simply put, we would not be able to enjoy the fruits of cannabis without The Godfather of Cannabis Research, Raphael Mechoulam.

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Sources: 

1. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9721036/
2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6334252/#B35
3. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19896326/
4. https://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7324885/
5. https://bpspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1476-5381.2011.01238.x
6. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/22/science/raphael-mechoulam-dead.html

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