Raphael Mechoulam, an Israeli chemist who discovered the structure and function of cannabis' key compounds, died on March 9 at his Jerusalem home. He was 92.
Professor Mechoulam had been a member of the Hebrew University's faculty since 1966, according to the American Friends of the Hebrew University.
In the early 1960s, Professor Mechoulam began working with cannabis just before the use of marijuana and other drugs exploded around the world, bringing seismic changes to popular culture and kicking off decades-long battles over health effects. He earned the unofficial title "the father of cannabis research" for his groundbreaking work with marijuana.
Professor Mechoulam's fascination with marijuana was not cultural, but scientific, driven by a fascination with the chemical structure of plants.
He was concerned that cannabis science was lacking at the time. The first time morphine was isolated from opium was in the early 19th century, according to Professor Mechoulam, who spoke with CNN's chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta in 2014. “Cocaine had been isolated from coca leaves in the mid-19th century. It was mid-20th century, and yet cannabis had no known chemistry. This looked like an interesting project.”
As a result, Professor Mechoulam and his team at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel, just south of Tel Aviv, began to break down the chemical structures of THC, the psychoactive compound in marijuana, to assess how it did what it did — namely, make users high. The Hebrew University of Jerusalem continued to research this for decades.
The researchers were also able to explain the structure and effects of other cannabinoids, like cannabidiol, or CBD. Since its purported effectiveness in treating a variety of ailments, including anxiety, insomnia, and chronic pain, CBD has fueled a marketing craze in recent years.
According to Yossi Tam, a professor at the Hebrew University and a longtime colleague, Mechoulam synthesized many cannabinoid compounds that helped other scientists discover cannabinoid receptors in the brain.
A major component of Professor Mechoulam's research was the discovery of anandamide, one of the main endocannabinoids, by the body's natural endocannabinoid system. As well as regulating learning and memory, sleep, immunity, and appetite, endocannabinoids, similar to those found in marijuana, help regulate many other bodily functions.
According to Asher Cohen, the president of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Professor Mechoulam accumulated most of the scientific and human knowledge about cannabis. A sharp-minded and charismatic pioneer, Mechoulam paved the way for groundbreaking research and initiated scientific cooperation among scientists around the globe. He pioneered scientific collaboration.”
When Professor Mechoulam began his research in pre-hippie days, there was a dearth of interest in cannabinoids from institutions. In a 2019 video interview, he recounted how in the 1960s when he applied for NIH funds, they said: "Tell us when you have something more relevant to the US; cannabis is only used in Mexico." However, eventually the N.I.H. sponsored his research for over four decades.
"Well," he said, "that changed quite quickly."
Mechoulam was born in Sofia, Bulgaria, on Nov. 5, 1930. His father was a prominent Austrian-born physician, and his mother had studied in Berlin and encouraged a broad education.
During World War II, Bulgaria's pro-German government passed a number of severe antisemitic laws which caused my parents to feel that our family would be safer in small villages in the Balkans which had an urgent need for physicians,” recounts Professor Mechoulam in the Annual Review of Pharmacology and Toxicology. He continues by reminiscing fondly about his daily trips to the village pump for water and reading books by candlelight in the evenings.
It was in 1944 that his father was sent to a concentration camp, but he survived. The family moved to Israel in 1949, where Professor Mechoulam earned a master’s degree in biochemistry from the Hebrew University. He was conscripted in 1953 and worked in an Israeli Army medical research unit for about two years.
Early in the 1960s, he became interested in cannabis' pharmacology after taking a post at the Weizmann Institute. He wrote: "I was surprised to learn that an active compound had never been isolated in pure form, and that its structure was only partially known." Despite being isolated more than two decades ago, cannabidiol (CBD), a major crystalline component, remained largely a mystery.
Because marijuana was illegal in Israel, Professor Mechoulam had to develop contacts within law enforcement to procure a supply for his studies. According to CNN, he didn't have a car at the time. “I carried five kilos of hashish on the bus. People just said, ‘It smells weird.’ We tested it on a few volunteers, including ourselves.”
Mechoulam wrote in the Annual Review that he and a colleague, Yehiel Gaoni, extracted hashish and, through repeated column chromatography, isolated about 10 compounds - most of them unknown.
It was Professor Tam's belief that Professor Mechoulam was a champion of research into the potential medical benefits of cannabis throughout his career. In 1980, he conducted clinical research in Brazil, using CBD to treat epilepsy patients. As a result, none of the participants reported seizures after a few months, Professor Tam explained.
When Dr. Gupta of CNN referred to Professor Mechoulam, then in his 80s, as “the grandfather of marijuana,” Professor Mechoulam smiled and replied, “Well, I am a grandfather, OK, I have seven grandchildren.” His wife, Dalia (Borowitz) Mechoulam, son, Roy Meshulam, and daughters, Dafna Golan and Hadas Mechoulam, also survive him.
Professor Mechoulam expressed his satisfaction with his contributions to science by quoting Rainer Maria Rilke's poem, "Widening Circles":
I live my life in widening circles
that reach out across the world.
I may not complete this last one
but I give myself to it.
"Well," Professor Mechoulam said, "it's as if he's describing what's happening with cannabis. It started with a small circle, and then expanded, and the expansion continues."
Professor Mechoulam had been a member of the Hebrew University's faculty since 1966, according to the American Friends of the Hebrew University.
In the early 1960s, Professor Mechoulam began working with cannabis just before the use of marijuana and other drugs exploded around the world, bringing seismic changes to popular culture and kicking off decades-long battles over health effects. He earned the unofficial title "the father of cannabis research" for his groundbreaking work with marijuana.
Professor Mechoulam's fascination with marijuana was not cultural, but scientific, driven by a fascination with the chemical structure of plants.
He was concerned that cannabis science was lacking at the time. The first time morphine was isolated from opium was in the early 19th century, according to Professor Mechoulam, who spoke with CNN's chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta in 2014. “Cocaine had been isolated from coca leaves in the mid-19th century. It was mid-20th century, and yet cannabis had no known chemistry. This looked like an interesting project.”
As a result, Professor Mechoulam and his team at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel, just south of Tel Aviv, began to break down the chemical structures of THC, the psychoactive compound in marijuana, to assess how it did what it did — namely, make users high. The Hebrew University of Jerusalem continued to research this for decades.
The researchers were also able to explain the structure and effects of other cannabinoids, like cannabidiol, or CBD. Since its purported effectiveness in treating a variety of ailments, including anxiety, insomnia, and chronic pain, CBD has fueled a marketing craze in recent years.
According to Yossi Tam, a professor at the Hebrew University and a longtime colleague, Mechoulam synthesized many cannabinoid compounds that helped other scientists discover cannabinoid receptors in the brain.
A major component of Professor Mechoulam's research was the discovery of anandamide, one of the main endocannabinoids, by the body's natural endocannabinoid system. As well as regulating learning and memory, sleep, immunity, and appetite, endocannabinoids, similar to those found in marijuana, help regulate many other bodily functions.
According to Asher Cohen, the president of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Professor Mechoulam accumulated most of the scientific and human knowledge about cannabis. A sharp-minded and charismatic pioneer, Mechoulam paved the way for groundbreaking research and initiated scientific cooperation among scientists around the globe. He pioneered scientific collaboration.”
When Professor Mechoulam began his research in pre-hippie days, there was a dearth of interest in cannabinoids from institutions. In a 2019 video interview, he recounted how in the 1960s when he applied for NIH funds, they said: "Tell us when you have something more relevant to the US; cannabis is only used in Mexico." However, eventually the N.I.H. sponsored his research for over four decades.
"Well," he said, "that changed quite quickly."
Mechoulam was born in Sofia, Bulgaria, on Nov. 5, 1930. His father was a prominent Austrian-born physician, and his mother had studied in Berlin and encouraged a broad education.
During World War II, Bulgaria's pro-German government passed a number of severe antisemitic laws which caused my parents to feel that our family would be safer in small villages in the Balkans which had an urgent need for physicians,” recounts Professor Mechoulam in the Annual Review of Pharmacology and Toxicology. He continues by reminiscing fondly about his daily trips to the village pump for water and reading books by candlelight in the evenings.
It was in 1944 that his father was sent to a concentration camp, but he survived. The family moved to Israel in 1949, where Professor Mechoulam earned a master’s degree in biochemistry from the Hebrew University. He was conscripted in 1953 and worked in an Israeli Army medical research unit for about two years.
Early in the 1960s, he became interested in cannabis' pharmacology after taking a post at the Weizmann Institute. He wrote: "I was surprised to learn that an active compound had never been isolated in pure form, and that its structure was only partially known." Despite being isolated more than two decades ago, cannabidiol (CBD), a major crystalline component, remained largely a mystery.
Because marijuana was illegal in Israel, Professor Mechoulam had to develop contacts within law enforcement to procure a supply for his studies. According to CNN, he didn't have a car at the time. “I carried five kilos of hashish on the bus. People just said, ‘It smells weird.’ We tested it on a few volunteers, including ourselves.”
Mechoulam wrote in the Annual Review that he and a colleague, Yehiel Gaoni, extracted hashish and, through repeated column chromatography, isolated about 10 compounds - most of them unknown.
It was Professor Tam's belief that Professor Mechoulam was a champion of research into the potential medical benefits of cannabis throughout his career. In 1980, he conducted clinical research in Brazil, using CBD to treat epilepsy patients. As a result, none of the participants reported seizures after a few months, Professor Tam explained.
When Dr. Gupta of CNN referred to Professor Mechoulam, then in his 80s, as “the grandfather of marijuana,” Professor Mechoulam smiled and replied, “Well, I am a grandfather, OK, I have seven grandchildren.” His wife, Dalia (Borowitz) Mechoulam, son, Roy Meshulam, and daughters, Dafna Golan and Hadas Mechoulam, also survive him.
Professor Mechoulam expressed his satisfaction with his contributions to science by quoting Rainer Maria Rilke's poem, "Widening Circles":
I live my life in widening circles
that reach out across the world.
I may not complete this last one
but I give myself to it.
"Well," Professor Mechoulam said, "it's as if he's describing what's happening with cannabis. It started with a small circle, and then expanded, and the expansion continues."
