Raphael Mechoulam (born 1930) is an Israeli
organic chemist and professor of
Medicinal Chemistry at the
Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel. Mechoulam is best known for his work (together with Y. Gaoni) in the isolation, structure elucidation and total synthesis of Δ
9-
tetrahydrocannabinol, the main active principle of
cannabis and for the isolation and the identification of the endogenous cannabinoids
anandamide from the brain and 2-arachidonoyl glycerol
(2-AG) from peripheral organs together with his students, postdocs and collaborators.