Zack Meghnagi isn’t just talking about cannabis—he’s living it. Lighting up on a rooftop in New York, the founder of Israel High Life & Plug Global blends the sharp instincts of a hustler with the calm clarity of someone who’s found purpose in the plant. “I'm  is Zack Meghnagi,” he begins. “I've been in the medical cannabis industry for about nine years now since I was 17. Before I could buy a beer legally… I'm not from America. So way before I could buy a beer here…”

Based in Jerusalem , Meghnagi entered the cannabis world early and headfirst. He carved out a name working with doctors, lawyers, and cultivators, soaking up the industry’s ins and outs while championing local culture through his content platform. “I started off learning from  a bunch of industry professionals  whether it was lawyers,farm owners, doctors, researchers,or legislators ” he recalls. “And it kind of gave me a professional angle for the industry.”

Alongside that professional rise came a mission: connect Israeli-grown cannabis to global buyers in places like Germany, the UK, and Australia. “What I'm doing right now is also kind of bridging between the local market and the global market,” he explains. “I’m trying to help the local industry (which has been hit with a wave of Canadian Cannabis). So bridging between them and Germany has been the main work right now… and we've seen some serious interest in Israeli products from some big players.”

Meghnagi says Israel’s medical cannabis scene is bigger than most people realize. “The medical scene, it is bigger than most of the world's medical scene,” he notes. “But the (illegal) recreational scene is actually huge…, it's not legally recreationally available yet, but you've got something like 30%+ of 18 to 55-year-olds who've consumed cannabis in the past year.”

For many, cannabis is more than relaxation—it’s relief. Meghnagi has worked closely with PTSD patients and knows the plant’s healing power firsthand. “I feel like, everyone growing up in such tense situations  have it to a certain extent,” he says. “I hear a siren from an ambulance in New York and I jump, it automatically reminds me of red alerts back home.”

He credits a close friend and business partner with deepening his understanding of how cannabis supports trauma survivors. “He's a PTSD patient who was injured in a terrorist attack about 30 years ago. He got lynched in the face and he's been blind in one eye ever since,” Meghnagi shares. “He also lobbied against the health ministry with a variety of topics to help the patients receive better treatment and better products along with helping  different illnesses be added to the list of what could be prescribed.”

That experience fueled Meghnagi’s drive to push for more options in Israel’s medical system. “What we have there is basically just topical oil and bags of 10 grams,” he says. “A lot of people don’t want to smoke… they want a vape or they want an edible.” He’s hopeful that as awareness grows, so will access: “I would hope very much so that the recreational side of things opens up because it'll create so much jobs, so much new opportunity.” Meghnagi hopes to see Israel’s CBD industry expand into a more impactful space—one that supports smoking cessation and offers people healthier, less harmful ways to manage anxiety.

His loyalty , however, is rooted in something deeper than business. “When it comes down to it, there’s a third partner in every deal I make   and it’s God,” Meghnagi says. “I know I can't cheat him, so I'm definitely not going to try and cheat you.”

That kind of old-school honor meets new-gen hustle is what drives him—along with a love for quality flower, evolving culture, and connecting dots others don’t even see. And as he takes another smooth hit under the Manhattan skyline, he grins:

“New York is lovely but the beach in Tel Aviv hits different.”