Ehud Barak At CannaTech: ‘Israel Is The Land Of Milk, Honey And Cannabis’

One thousand participants from 45 countries gathered in Tel Aviv today for the 4th annual CannaTech conference. Professionals from the fields of pharma, biotechnology, agriculture, medicine and business traveled to CannaTech from Africa, Asia, Europe, North America and South America to learn about the latest developments in the burgeoning cannabis industry, of which Israel plays a major role in every sector.

Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, now Chairman of the Israeli medical cannabis company CANNDOC/Intercure, a medical cannabis holding company, delivered the opening address. Quipping that “Israel is now the land of Milk, Honey and Cannabis,” he said that the cannabis market is now at $17 billion worldwide and would grow to $150 billion and beyond in the coming years. He predicted that in the not so far future, one out of three people on the planet would be using some kind of cannabinoid-based product and suggested the huge industry opportunities in both the medical and recreational fields should be seized “aggressively and immediately.”

At a press briefing, Saul Kaye, the CEO and founder of CannaTech and iCAN: Israel-Cannabis said that “patients in Israel are not getting medical cannabis fast enough,” urging the government to move quicker to reform the process so patients who need help could obtain it. He also stated that Israel “immediately needs a legal cannabis framework for the 2 million Israeli cannabis consumers.”

Yona Levy, CEO of Alvit Pharma, one of Israel’s leader cannabis companies noted at the briefing that Alvit will be supplying EU countries with cannabis buds, oil, other cannabis products by the end of this year. “Alvit will be educating doctors in the use of cannabis in languages they understand. Medical cannabis use in Europe is in the beginning stages but patient demand for the product is huge.”

Also speaking was 13-year old Rylie Maedler. At the age of 7, Rylie was diagnosed with aggressive bone tumors that disfigured her face. Rylie’s mother heard about the efficacy of cannabis oil against cancer and gave it to Rylie. Her tumors were minimized and there has been no reoccurrence. Today, Rylie’s focus, along with her family and others is to supply quality medical whole plant botanical oil for holistic relief of debilitating health conditions.

CannaTech is taking place at Trask in the Tel Aviv port. There are over 90 speakers presenting topics spanning the range of the cannabis eco-system. Fifty Israeli and international companies have set up information booths and close to one hundred corporate sponsors are supporting the event.