TEL AVIV, Israel, Nov. 3, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Emmy Award-winning American media personality and noted worldwide wellness advocate has spent the last six days in Israel on a mission of education and information sharing with respect to Israeli advances in medicine, science, regulation and patient access to crucial therapies.
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"As someone who suffers from multiple sclerosis, I am committed to travelling the globe to learn whatever I can about my disease and how I can best manage it," said Williams. "I had heard from trusted colleagues and advisors that Israel was far ahead of its counterparts in areas of study critical to my condition, from new medicine development to novel treatments using ultrasound technology to medicinal cannabis, and I was extremely impressed with what I saw, so much so that I plan to seek the advice of some of the practitioners I met as I continue the daily struggle against this disease."
Williams was in Israel with a delegation from Abatin Wellness, his U.S.-based medicinal cannabis initiative, and as a result of what the team learned, Abatin will create a global medical and scientific advisory board, starting with top physicians and researchers from Israel. Israeli physicians have demonstrated that properly dispensed medicinal cannabis has a low potential for abuse, has multiple accepted medical uses, and can be administered safely under medical supervision.
"Israel is a special place, and I am humbled that the country welcomed me in to learn about the groundbreaking discoveries they have made in various medical, scientific and technological arenas," said Williams.
Williams met with distinguished physicians and researchers at leading Israeli institutions such as Sheba Medical Center, Hadassah Medical Center, Abarbanel Hospital, and regulators, Hebrew University, Haifa University, Shaare Zedek Hospital and others in the hopes of sharing information regarding patient care and access that he can use in his efforts for advocacy and education stateside. He also spent time with Save a Child's Heart, an organization which assists families from developing nations in securing life-saving treatment for their children, as well as the Lone Soldier Center, which provides services to foreign born members of the Israeli Defense Forces, both of which he found profoundly inspiring.
With respect to medicinal cannabis, Williams' initiative, Abatin, seeks to provide safe access to thoroughly tested, efficacious medicine for legitimate patients in a clinical context. Williams and his colleagues from Abatin were impressed with the manner in which Israel has integrated this critical treatment into hospitals and other medical facilities, such that it is controlled and dispensed by qualified doctors throughout the patient's course of treatment.
"I am leaving Israel with new information to fight my MS, and also with greater resolve to continue my advocacy for patients back in America," Williams concluded. After meeting with the world's leading researchers in the field of medicinal cannabis, I am inspired to redouble my efforts to ensure this necessary medication is accessible to patients in America."
