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"More and more citizens are demanding marijuana use be permitted,"
Yohanan Danino, then Israel's police chief, observed in 2015. "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's happening around the world."
If it was surprising to hear a
sitting police chief talk about tolerating cannabis consumption. It was
even more surprising when the country's right-wing government followed
Danino's advice, although it didn't go quite as far as he suggested.
In
March, the Israeli cabinet approved a plan to replace criminal
penalties for possessing small amounts of pot with civil fines.
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's licenses. Criminal charges would be possible, at the
discretion of police, only after a fourth offense.
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'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.
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.
"The
current law enforcement policy may come across as arbitrary and
draconian, or, alternatively, a dead letter that is no longer enforced,"
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 "sends a message that a
million Israelis who consume marijuana aren't criminals."
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.
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