This week the two biggest parties making up Israel’s new government announced that they would push for increased legalization of cannabis use.
The move comes a week after the police minister backed easing enforcement of existing laws. “The stance of the incoming public security minister is… to minimize harm as much as possible to [otherwise] law-abiding citizens who have offenses linked to the drug,” the ministry’s response said.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud and Defense Minister Benny Gantz’s Blue and White stated that they would advance legislation “to resolve the issue of decriminalization and legalization,” regarding recreational cannabis use.
The matter will be done “via a responsible model that will be suited to the State of Israel and the Israeli population,” the joint statement said.
The two parties have also decided to push medical cannabis reforms in order to make it easier for patients to get access to treatment and for growers to get a license.
The legislation will be advanced by Blue and White MK Ram Shefa and Likud MK Sharren Haskel, and will be brought to the Ministerial Committee for Legislation “at the earliest convenience and after organized groundwork.”
