Photo of Raphael Mechoulam. (March 15) courtesy of Wikipedia
In 1930, a man was born in Sofia, Bulgaria and his name was Raphael Mechoulam. His father was a doctor who survived a Nazi concentration camp and the family fled to Israel in 1949. Young Raphael earned his master’s degree in biochemistry in his new homeland.
In a CNN interview with Dr. Gupta Professor Mechoulam said he decided to research cannabis because; “…here we were, mid-20th century, and yet the chemistry of cannabis was not known. So it looked like an interesting project.” He earned his Ph.D. and blazed trails in cannabis research. He isolated THC, CBD, and anandamide three very prominent cannabinoids in the cannabis plant.
His research helped to significantly deepen our understanding of the endocannabinoid system (ECS) that is present in all mammals. This system is vital in regulating sleep, appetite, pain, memory, immunity, learning, body temperature, inflammation, and other bodily functions. Raphael Mechoulam passed away at 92 years old on March 9.
