Dr. Lumír Hanuš, an analytic chemist, is a leading authority in the field of cannabis research. He started working with cannabis and hashish in his native Czechoslovakia in 1970.

Following the 1989 Velvet Revolution, which ushered in a democratic regime, he was invited to do research at the Hebrew University, where he first described – together with an American molecular pharmacologist – the structure of Anandamide, an endogenous cannabinoid neurotransmitter.

In this conversation with Rogel Alpher, he explains that many of the beliefs about the dangers of the drug are false, and that it has very strong medicinal qualities, even though it is widely recognized as a palliative drug.

Playlist:

Moravanka Jana Slabáka – Moravská beseda – 3. díl: Rostó, rostó, rostó
Karel Kryl – Nevidomá Dívka
Yehuda Poliker – Boker Yom Rishon
Nigel Kennedy – J.S. Bach Concerto for Violin and Oboe in C minor, BWV1060 – I – Allegro

Photo courtesy of Dr. Lumír Hanuš.