Getting high in the land of the Most High

Without Israel there would be no THC

Dr. Raphael Mechoulam is an 80 year old chemistry professor at Jerusalem’s Hebrew University. Dr. Mechoulam is also the world’s leading researcher on the chemical known as THC (or tetrahydrocannabinol), which is the active ingredient in cannabis/marijuana. It was Dr. Mechoulam who, with his partner Yehiel Gaoni, first discovered THC while working at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel. Before then scientists did not know why marijuana made people “high”. Since THC’s discovery, it has been used for a vast array of medical purposes.

Dr. Raphael Mechoulam

The Mechoulam family fled the Nazis and immigrated to Israel from Sofia, Bulgaria in 1949. Raphael Mechoulam joined the IDF for whom he worked for as a chemist studying insecticides. After his discharge and a few more years of studying Dr. Mechoulam began his work at the Weizmann Institute of Science where, intrigued by the drug culture of the 1960’s, he began his research on cannabis/marijuana. “By the 1960s, it was the only one of the three major illicit drugs; the others being opium and coca whose chemical structures remained a mystery. The other two had been ‘solved’ many decades before.” says Dr. Mechoulam. “You couldn’t buy marijuana or hashish in the store, of course, so the only way I could think of getting it was from the police. I asked the administrative head at Weizmann if he knew anybody in the police department, and he called the head of the investigative branch, who he’d served with in the army. I went to the police headquarters in Tel Aviv and walked out with a five-kilo bloc of hashish, smuggled from Lebanon, that they’d confiscated in an arrest. I carried it back with me on the bus to Rehovot, and I remember some of the passengers near me sniffing the air, and they seemed to be enjoying themselves.”

Since Dr. Mechoulam’s initial discovery, THC has been used to treat a multitude of illnesses and their symptoms including AIDS, cancer, glaucoma, Alzheimer’s, and PTSD (Rosenthal. 382). Many countries have implemented the use of THC to treat its ailing citizens including Spain, Israel, The United States, and Canada. “I give THC to the cancer department (at Hadassah Medical Center, which is connected to Hebrew University’s medical school),” Dr. Mechoulam says. “Patients undergoing bone marrow transplants receive 5 mg under their tongue. When they get to that stage, they’re really depressed, anxious and in pain. They don’t see any light at the end of the tunnel. The dose of THC lifts their mood, they sleep better and all of a sudden life is not so awful.”

Many sick and not so sick people around the world have Dr. Raphael Mechoulam to thank for the relief they receive by the power of THC.

The information used for this post came from a Jewish Journal web article. The article really took no obvious stance on the topic, though by the playful tone set by the author, I would guess that he doesn’t believe marijuana use to be very detrimental. A large portion of the article was quotes by Dr. Mechoulam, whom since I have seen him intervieved before on the National Geographic channel, I know is exactly as well respected as the article makes him out to be.





Below is the National Geographic piece I saw on Dr. Mechoulam earlier this year.

A Christian in the IDF

Corporal Eleanor Joseph

Corporal Eleanor Joseph, a female, Arab, Christian, Israeli has become the first female Arab-Israeli paratrooper in the history of the nation. Born in Gush Halav, the Joseph family moved to the city of Haifa and settled in an Arab neighborhood where Eleanor was raised. Growing up with a IDF paratrooper for a father, Eleanor Joseph always had a strong sense of national pride and honor. During high school Eleanor served as a volunteer in Haifa's Rambam hospital. When she became old enough, Eleanor volunteered for IDF service. She dreamed of becoming the first female Arab combat soldier, and passed through basic training at the head of her class. Eleanor insisted that her commanding officers allow her to serve Israel as a member of elite Karakal fighting unit. After excelling through her training Corporal Joseph was accepted into Karakal's ranks, becoming the first female Arab ever to do so.

The Female Warrior

Corporal Eleanor Joseph is a true Israeli patriot. When confronted by those who imply that she is in some way betraying her Arab identity by serving in the IDF, Eleanor thinks back to a time where Hezbollah rockets killed many of her Arab neighbors in Haifa. Eleanor says “if someone tells me that the service in the IDF is just killing Arabs, I remind them that Arabs are killing Arabs.”

In her wallet she carries a green note with a drawing of a Star of David on which it says: "I have no other country, even if my land is burning." The line is from the popular Israeli poet Ehud Manor, it is also Eleanor's personal motto. "It's a sentence that strengthens me" says Corporal Joseph. "Every time it's hard for me, I read it. Because I was born here. The people I love live here. My parents, my friends. It's a Jewish state? True. But it's also my country. I do not imagine myself living anywhere else. I think every person should enlist. You live here, reside here? Go defend your country. So what if I'm an Arab? " During Israels national anthem Corporal Joseph says that she loves to see Israels flag fluttering in the wind, "it's always windy during military ceremonies." she tells reporters.

Corporal Joseph earning her place

The Israel Politik blog used Corporal Joseph to launch their new “Faces of the IDF” series, in which they will show the diversity of the IDF through it's accomplished, multicultural members. Corporal Joseph serves as an excellent example of Israel's multicultural atmosphere. Her fame and status in Israel come as a big hit to those who would title Israel an “apartheid-state”, referring to its treatment of Palestinian refugees. It is true that Christians have been absorbed into Israeli Jewish society to a greater extent than Muslims, (Rosenthal. 309) and so the acceptance of Corporal Joseph can be seen as the next logical step in creating a lasting peace between Arabs and Jews in the middle-east.

The sources for my information on Corporal Eleanor Joseph came from three different web-sites. The first was the Israel Politik blog. It was on this blog that Corporal Eleanor Joseph was first given special coverage in the kick-off post for the “Faces of the IDF”. The information presented on this page gave the same opinionated information on the Corporal as I did, by leaning toward the idea that stories such has hers are good for the Jewish states reputation. Israel Politik's last line in the English language post on the Corporal was a quote by her speaking about her belief that peace can be established in the region- obviously a promotion of the idea of multiculturalism and Arab/Israeli peace.

The second source I used was Israel Matzav blog. This website give the same type of support for the Corporals promotion as the first sight. The last line in the blog post is “No, she's not Muslim - she's Christian.” I am not exactly sure how to take this statement. In the greater context of the story it could either show a prejudice to the Israeli-Muslim community or it simply be for the purpose of informing the reader. Since it comes at the end of the article, I think that it is probably a show of disdain for the Muslims, as its placement seems a little underhanded.

The last source I used for my entry was the Eyes 2 Israel blog. It again presented the Corporal as a “a true Israeli Patriot”, and gave the idea that her promotion was great for Israel's identity. The blogs article ends with “Eleanor doesn't have any other country; she is a true and a proud Arab Christian Israeli.” I feel like this line is also a slant at the Israeli/Muslim community, and as in the second article, I believe this may increase the level of enthusiasm that author may have for the Arab/Christian, IDF serving, woman.