{"id":7416,"date":"2017-05-25T17:09:37","date_gmt":"2017-05-25T17:09:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.420magazine.com\/?p=6168"},"modified":"2017-05-25T17:09:37","modified_gmt":"2017-05-25T17:09:37","slug":"israel-eases-up-on-marijuana-users","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/israel-eases-up-on-marijuana-users\/","title":{"rendered":"Israel Eases Up On Marijuana Users"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"wp_fb_like_button\" style=\"margin:5px 0 5px 5px;float:right;height:100px;\"><script src=\"http:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/all.js#xfbml=1\"><\/script><fb:like href=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/israel-eases-up-on-marijuana-users\/\" send=\"true\" layout=\"standard\" width=\"450\" show_faces=\"false\" font=\"arial\" action=\"like\" colorscheme=\"light\"><\/fb:like><\/div><p>&#8220;More and more citizens are demanding marijuana use be permitted,&#8221; Yohanan Danino, then Israel&#8217;s police chief, observed in 2015. &#8220;I think the time has come for the Israel police, together with the state, to re-examine their stance on cannabis. I think we must sit and study what&#8217;s happening around the world.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>If it was surprising to hear a sitting police chief talk about tolerating cannabis consumption. It was even more surprising when the country&#8217;s right-wing government followed Danino&#8217;s advice, although it didn&#8217;t go quite as far as he suggested.<\/p>\n<p>In March, the Israeli cabinet approved a plan to replace criminal penalties for possessing small amounts of pot with civil fines.<\/p>\n<p>Under the plan, which was endorsed by Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan, a member of the conservative Likud Party, people 18 or older caught with up to 15 grams (half an ounce) of marijuana would be subject to a fine of 1,000 shekels (about $275). The amount would be doubled for a second offense, while third-time offenders would receive probation, possibly coupled with treatment or additional sanctions, such as suspension of their driver&#8217;s licenses. Criminal charges would be possible, at the discretion of police, only after a fourth offense.<\/p>\n<p>Related: City by City, Marijuana Is Becoming Legal<\/p>\n<p>Possession of 15 grams or less is currently punishable by up to three years in prison, although the consequences are usually much less severe. Under attorney general&#8217;s directives issued in 1985 and 2003, people caught with small amounts of marijuana are not supposed to be arrested for a first offense. Police have discretion as to whether charges should be brought for subsequent offenses.<\/p>\n<p>Arrests for marijuana possession fell 30 percent between 2010 and 2015, from 4,967 to 3,425, in a country with a population of 8.2 million. By comparison, police in the United States, which has a population 40 times as big, arrested about 575,000 people for marijuana possession in 2015, or 168 times as many.<\/p>\n<p>Related: Will Trump Reignite the War on Marijuana ?<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The current law enforcement policy may come across as arbitrary and draconian, or, alternatively, a dead letter that is no longer enforced,&#8221; a committee appointed by Erdan concluded. Tamar Zandberg, a member of the left-wing Meretz Party who chairs the Knesset Special Committee on Drug and Alcohol Abuse, said the new approach &#8220;sends a message that a million Israelis who consume marijuana aren&#8217;t criminals.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>While recreational use remains illegal, about 25,000 Israelis legally use marijuana as a medicine. Last year, the government made medical marijuana more accessible by letting more doctors prescribe it and allowing ordinary pharmacies to dispense it. In January the government announced $2.1 million in funding for medical marijuana research, and 37 growers received preliminary permits in March, more than quintupling the number of cultivation sites.<\/p>\n<p><img src=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/israel-eases-up-on-marijuana-users.jpg\" alt=\"\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>News Moderator: Ron Strider <a href=\"http:\/\/www.420magazine.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">420 MAGAZINE \u00ae<\/a><br \/>\nFull Article: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/israel-eases-marijuana-users-612499\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Israel Eases Up on Marijuana Users<\/a><br \/>\nAuthor: Jacob Sullum<br \/>\nContact: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/contact\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Contact<\/a><br \/>\nPhoto Credit: JACK GUEZ<br \/>\nWebsite: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Newsweek &#8211; News, Analysis, Politics, Business, Technology, Lifestyle, Photos and Video<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;More and more citizens are demanding marijuana use be permitted,&#8221; Yohanan Danino, then Israel&#8217;s police chief, observed in 2015. &#8220;I&#8230; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.420magazine.com\/2017\/05\/israel-eases-marijuana-users\/\" class=\"read-more\">[Read More]<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1616,9,1,3],"tags":[4184],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7416"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7416"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7416\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7416"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7416"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7416"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}