Israel’s New Cannabis Decriminalization Policy Doesn’t Go Far Enough

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Israel has served as an international cannabis leader when it comes to research and, to some extent, medical cannabis policy. Last year leaders in Israel announced plans to legalize cannabis for adult use. However, that has yet to happen.

The initial timeline for legalization was nine months when it was first announced, which would have made legalization a reality in Israel back in November. Instead, Israel recently moved to decriminalize personal cannabis possession. It’s definitely a better policy than outright prohibition; however, it doesn’t go far enough.

According to the new guidelines recently passed in Israel and signed into law by the nation’s Justice Minister this month, people caught with a personal amount of cannabis will be subjected to a fine and not charged with a criminal offense. Fines for personal cannabis infractions will not exceed 500 shekels.

Decriminalization Is Not Legalization

As I have written for Skunk in the past, there seems to be a global trend of nations exploring cannabis decriminalization measures and promoting such moves as ‘legalization.’ Removing criminal penalties for personal cannabis possession is a great move, but it doesn’t constitute actual legalization.

Non-commercial legalization is another public policy that nations seem to be pursuing. It involves legalizing cannabis for personal use and continuing to prohibit sales. It’s worth noting that Israel’s recent move does not constitute non-commercial legalization either.

Just as no one should ever be arrested or jailed for cannabis, no one should be fined after being caught with a personal amount of cannabis. As long as there are penalties for personal cannabis use, which is still the case in Israel, laws will continue to be unfairly enforced in a selective fashion against certain populations, and that is unacceptable.

Israel Needs Full Legalization

It makes no sense why Israel is pursuing such an incremental approach to cannabis reform, given its long history researching the cannabis plant. It was recently announced that Israel has plans to remove CBD from its list of dangerous substances. However, the timeline for such a move is two years. Why does it take two years to legalize CBD? Even better, why is CBD illegal in Israel in the first place?

Israel recently surpassed Germany as the top importer of legal cannabis on the planet. Given Israel’s long history with the cannabis plant, there’s no valid reason why it should hold that title. It’s clearly a sign of a broken cannabis regulatory system and a deficient approach to cannabis policy.

Israel needs to legalize cannabis for adult use and take its rightful spot as an international cannabis industry leader. Just as adult citizens of Israel should be able to purchase recreational cannabis, so too should tourists be allowed to do the same. Millions of people visit Israel every year, and legalizing sales to all adults regardless of citizenship status would provide huge revenues for Israel in addition to creating a significant number of jobs.