A Canadian weed company is helping end a medical cannabis shortage in Israel.
British Columbia-based Tilray, Inc. (NASDAQ: TLRY) announced Thursday it signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Canndoc, a subsidiary of Israel’s InterCure Ltd., for the import and export of medical cannabis.
Canndoc will be able to import up to 2.5 tonnes of medical cannabis from Tilray’s facility in Portugal and will use the weed to fill the country’s shortage of medical cannabis, according to a press release.
“With a supply shortage of medical cannabis in Israel it’s incredibly important to partner with a trusted company like Tilray to import and distribute GMP-certified medical cannabis to physicians, pharmacies and patients across the country,” former Israeli prime minister and Canndoc board member Ehud Barak said in a statement.
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The first shipment under this agreement is slated to arrive in early January, and will mark Israel’s first legal cannabis import, Canndoc said. Patients will be able to buy the cannabis from Israeli pharmacies.
“We’re incredibly honoured to help increase patient access in Israel while becoming the first to ship medical cannabis into the country,” Tilray CEO Brendan Kennedy said in a statement. “Israel represents our 15th export country and the second shipment from our E.U. campus in Cantanhede, Portugal.”
The agreement will also allow Canndoc to sell five tonnes of flower back to Tilray starting mid-2020, to be distributed under Tilray’s brand.
If future Israeli regulations allow, the flower will be shipped to Portugal to be distributed throughout Europe. But if regulations block cannabis exports, then the flower will be made into medical cannabis to be sold within Israel under a new Tilray-Canndoc brand, according to the release
Canndoc’s products meet Canadian, European and Israeli regulatory requirements, according to the company website, and are prescribed to treat a variety of ailments from post traumatic stress disorder, inflammatory bowel disease, Parkinson’s, epilepsy and more.
Read more: Cannabis could alleviate major depression and suicidal thoughts in PTSD sufferers, study shows
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