KM-HQ; November 21, 2020
Though not a surprise to most, Israel has long been known as a leader in medicinal cannabis research. Now, they’re looking at legalizing recreational cannabis.
Justice Minister Avi Nissenkorn said earlier this week that Israel would have "legal marijuana in 9 months." Israel’s proposed model is expected to resemble Canada’s except in that the Israel bills are not expected to allow home cultivation without a license , and the law will likely include a blanket ban on smoking cannabis in public spaces.
“It’s time to make progress and legalize cannabis in Israel,” Nissenkorn said, according to the Times of Israel newspaper. Proponents of the initiative are aiming to hold the first of three necessary votes in the Knesset in December, ahead of its possible dissolution for a general election.
“Research institutes that examined the industry found that the value of the illegal market in Israel is over NIS 6 billion a year ($1.7 billion), which is being estimated tp bring the country about NIS 2 billion a year from taxes and up to a billion more from savings in enforcement resources, policing, etc.” said Oren Lebovitch, editor of Israeli Cannabis Magazine. Lebovitch said two cannabis-related bills are currently being combined on the basis of the committee findings. Deputy Attorney General Amir Merari said the government’s opinion is to favor legalization over decriminalization, which is more common in other countries, since “decriminalization doesn’t provide a solution for problems such as the black market.”
The combined bills have been introduced as private-member proposals earlier this year but faced little chance of approval without being sponsored by the government. It is expected to lay the groundwork for anyone in Israel older than 21 to buy adult-use cannabis products. The bill is also expected to lay out rules for cannabis stores.
Recreational use of cannabis is currently illegal, though the Public Security Ministry partially decriminalized it in 2017, which set fines and treatment for initial offenders instead of criminal procedures.
Many of the recommendations reported shows the State of Israel isn’t ignoring reality and is going in the footsteps of developed countries.” Avi Nissenkorn stated “This is a significant, holistic and responIsrael has taken steps in recent years to make medical cannabis available and is poised to become a major exporter of the crop, though local medical cannabis users have complained of near-impossible access to the few dispensaries licensed to distribute it".
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