Israel one step closer to legalizing recreational cannabis

The Israeli government takes another step towards legalizing cannabis for recreational purposes. According to the Minister of Justice, Avi Nissenkorn, the new draft law should be ready at the end of this month, to be read and discussed in the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in December. After discussion, the new law may enter into force within one year. 

Some of the planned changes are the legalization of possession up to 15 grams and the decriminalization of up to 50 grams, for people over 21 years old. People who are in prison establishments, on parole or who work in the security services are excluded. Self-cultivation will not be allowed, at least in this first phase. The sale of cannabis will be allowed in authorized stores, for use only at home, leaving out consumption in public places.

Israel is one of the countries that has led the investigation and use of cannabis inin recent years, with more than 70 thousand users authorized to have access to the plant by medical prescription. The discussion about recreational use, which had always met with strong opposition between the most orthodox political factions and the national police, ended up gaining strength during the long electoral campaign in which the country was plunged. Since April 2019, Israel has had three elections without any party being clearly elected until, finally, after the March elections of this year, the incumbent prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and his former rival Benny Gantz, reached a government pact. This process turned the issue of legalizing the recreational use of cannabis into a flagship issue for several parties, culminating now with the discussion in parliament of this new draft law.