Israel: Ministries of Finance and Health approve cannabis exports

Last March, the the Israeli government has approved the decriminalization of cannabis in the form of contraventionnalisation. Since then, an inter-ministerial team has been tasked with proposing amendments, new rules and the changes required to implement the new policy.

The inter-ministerial Finance and Health teams have agreed to approve the export of therapeutic cannabis, because of the country's strong economic potential.

Likewise, the country's advanced regulations, research and numerous clinical trials on therapeutic cannabis could lead to strong domestic demand for Israeli cannabis products. Last January, the Ministries of Agriculture and Health allocated 2.1 million for cannabis research.

«Exporting medical cannabis will strengthen Israel's agriculture».»

The country currently has eight licensed producers to meet the demands of the 30,000 patients who use medical cannabis in the country. No fewer than 500 producers have applied for a cannabis cultivation license to export products to countries that have legalized medical cannabis. All products will be eligible for export: edibles, cannabis oils and, of course, dried flowers.

Moshe Kahlon, Minister of Finance, declared: «The export of cannabis for therapeutic use is an industry with significant economic potential for the State of Israel. It will strengthen the country's agriculture. It will be an opportunity for the country to exploit its relative advantage in the development of medical products derived from therapeutic cannabis».

The committee also demanded that exports of medicinal cannabis be strictly regulated by the Ministry of Health. It was also demanded that only licensed growers be allowed to export cannabis.

Initially, Ya'acov Litzman, the Minister of Health, formally opposed the idea. But in view of the economic potential of exporting cannabis, he joined forces with the Finance Minister to approve the export, subject to certain restrictions. He said: «Because of the international interest in Israeli medical cannabis and its economic potential, we have agreed with Mr Khalon to approve the export. We will ensure that our health sector benefits through increased state revenues».

Mehdi Bautier