Raphael Mechoulam

Raphael Mechoulam (Hebrew: רפאל משולם; 5 November 1930 – 9 March 2023) was a Bulgarian-born Israeli organic chemist and a professor in the Department of Natural Materials at the School of Pharmacy in the Faculty of Medicine of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Mechoulam served as Rector of the university from 1979–1982. He was elected to the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities in 1994 and served as its scientific chair from 2007-2013. He was a recipient of the Israel Prize for Chemistry Research in 2000 and the Harvey Prize for 2019-2020. Known as "the godfather of cannabis research", Mechoulam is best known for his work (together with Y. Gaoni) in the isolation of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the main active principle of cannabis. He was also successful in the isolation and identification of the endogenous cannabinoids anandamide from the brain and 2-arachidonoyl glycerol, or 2-AG, from peripheral organs. His work has led to the discovery of the endocannabinoid system, which has effects on many important aspects of human health.