CANNAHEALTH The Opioid Epidemic | Page 7

published in the 2000-2001 standards manuals and will be effective January 1, 2001, for all patient care organizations accredited by JCAHO—ambulatory care, behavioral health, health care networks, home care, hospitals, long-term care, and long-term care pharmacies. An evaluation of the impact of the revisions is currently being completed, and education of the JCAHO surveyors and health care professionals is underway. Nurses, especially those with expertise in pain management, are valuable resources as health care organizations change their pain assessment and management processes to meet the new standards. © 2000 by the American Society of Pain Management Nurses.

Israel is the marijuana research capital of the world. The man who started it all, the grandfather of the marijuana research, is Professor Raphael Mechoulam. He is a chemist and he became interested in marijuana in the 1960s. Morphine had been isolated from opium in the early 19th century, cocaine had been isolated from coca leaves in the mid-19th century and yet in the mid-20th century the chemistry was not known.

It looked like an interesting project but not an easy one because in Israel, like almost everywhere else, marijuana was illegal. So how did Professor Raphael Mechoulam get the marijuana for his work? He went to the police and took five kilos of hashish. He didn't have a car at that time so he used public transport for carrying the hashish, while people were complaining of the strange smell. They tested the "merchandize" on few volunteers including themselves.

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