GERMANY
ISRAEL
Title: BILL TO DECRIMINALIZE CANNABIS USAGE PASSES IN FIRST READING IN KNESSET
Author: Jerusalem Post
Date: 7 March 2018
Extract:
A bill that would legalize the use of cannabis passed unanimously in its first reading in the Knesset on Wednesday.
Currently, the law prohibits the usage of cannabis.
The bill has been spearheaded by Public Security and Strategic Affairs Minister Gilad Erdan, who said Israel wants to “reduce the harms of drug usage regularly but avoid as much as possible the criminal stigmatization of average citizens.”The new bill focuses on public enforcement: those caught with cannabis in public are subject to various fines: on the first offense, 1000 NIS and 2000 NIS for the second offense. Thereafter, only on the fourth offense, individuals may be subject to criminal proceedings.
MK Tamar Zandberg (Meretz) said that the passing of the bill marks “another important step on the road to our victory.”
