This is How Far Ahead of the U.S. Israel is in Supporting the Cannabis Industry

Unlike just about every other country in the world, Israel has embraced cannabis research for decades. And now, while inconceivable in the U.S., the Israeli government is sponsoring an incubator for cannabis startups. As an article in Forbes points out, the incubator’s sponsors say it will be the first of its kind. The cannabis startup incubator is being backed by the Israeli Innovation Authority, a department of the Israeli government.

The Israeli-government-sponsored incubator will initially sponsor six cannabis startups and eventually grow to 30. Each startup will receive a loan of just under $300k USD to cover one year of R&D costs. The loan will be non-diluting and will make up 85% of the total investment, with the other 15% coming from private equity investments, including some from pharmaceutical companies with an interest in the project.