The number of authorized medical cannabis patients in Israel has more than doubled in the past two years – topping 70,000 – despite persistent supply and regulatory challenges, according to new data from the Israeli Medical Cannabis Agency (IMCA). By type, flower continues to be the most common form of medical marijuana prescribed, followed by extracts.
The new data is among a batch of charts released for the first time by the Israeli Medical Cannabis Agency – part of the Ministry of Health – in late August. A lack of publicly available data has been a major hurdle in the global medical cannabis industry, as most governments do not proactively release key data for industry and academic researchers trying to better understand business and patient trends.
Israel says the charts will be published monthly. However, the agency still refuses to provide the raw data used to generate the charts. “This is the first time the IMCA releases its closely held data, which does not really give all the information that the market requires,” said Itai Rogel, head of business development for Bazelet Group, a medical cannabis company in Tel Aviv. Another piece of information lacking from the new data disclosure, Ari Eyal, chief scientific officer for Bazelet, told Marijuana Business Daily, is the composition of the medical cannabis – in other words, the THC-versus-CBD content.
In Israel, 31 companies were permitted to grow medical marijuana for 71,323 authorized patients as of August. Five more are authorized to process and manufacture medical cannabis products, according to the Israeli Medical Cannabis Agency.
Israel recently overtook Germany as the top importer of medical cannabis flower in the world, according to data compiled by MJBizDaily and Tel Aviv-based Israeli Cannabis Magazine. MJBizDaily asked several experts in Israel to share their thoughts on the new data. Submissions have been edited for length and clarity.