Raphael Mechoulam, scientist who discovered why cannabis makes people 'high' - obituary

Source: The Telegraph

Raphael Mechoulam, scientist who discovered why cannabis makes people ‘high’ – obituary

Telegraph Obituaries
Thu, April 6, 2023 at 12:23 PM EDT·3 min read

Professor Raphael Mechoulam, who has died aged 92, paved the way for cannabis research in the 1960s by isolating and synthesising tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main psychoactive ingredient of marijuana.

Later, in the 1990s, he identified the brain’s endocannabinoid system, which plays a role in mood, memory and the sensation of pain and is receptive to THC, accounting for the “high” feeling experienced by those who use marijuana recreationally.

His research led to Israel, where medical marijuana is approved for around 27,000 patients, becoming the world leader in medical cannabis research.

The son of a doctor, Raphael Mechoulam was born into a Sephardic Jewish family in Sofia, Bulgaria, on November 5 1930. During the war, when Bulgaria allied with Germany, his father was sent to a concentration camp, from which he was eventually released, and in 1949 the family emigrated to Israel.

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