Israel Plans On Decriminalizing Recreational Cannabis

Every day there’s a new country or state making bills and regulation reforms to move cannabis legalization further, and the most recent one is Israel. 

On Sunday, Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Justice Minister Gideon Sa’ar announced that Israel is looking into decriminalizing recreational cannabis and ensuring records for those with non-violent cannabis crimes are expunged. 

If the country is able to reform its cannabis regulations, individuals who are convicted of non-violent cannabis-related crimes would have to submit a request to cancel their criminal record. If an individual’s criminal record is pending, they will have to contact the police and request for charges to be dropped. 

According to Haaretz, the Israeli government released a statement that notes how decriminalizing cannabis was designed to “lift the criminal labeling and the stain that accompanies it” and “complement” the existing regulations changes in favor of marijuana. 

While we wait, Sa’ar is said to start signing regulations once he begins hearing public comments. This shouldn’t take long; in fact, we should expect to see the regulations roll out sometime in the coming weeks, which will begin at the Knesset. 

Per Haaretz, the statement also reads that each application will be looked at “individually, based on circumstances,” meaning not everyone will be able to use decriminalized cannabis. Individuals charged with other offenses, those charged during military services, and minors will not be permitted to use decriminalized marijuana. 

The new regulations also define that minors, soldiers, police, and soldiers doing compulsory service as prison guards will still be prohibited from using decriminalized cannabis. Anyone else in the country will be allowed to use the plant as they please, even with existing criminal records. 

In November 2020, former Israeli Justice Minister Avi Nissenkorn proposed full decriminalization, but Sa’ar believes the chances of the current Knesset passing the regulations are slim to none. Thus, he decided to move forward with the regulations without the Knesset.