Israel to remove CBD from its list of dangerous substances

Israel to withdraw cannabidiol (CBD) of its Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Dangerous Drug Ordinance), allowing it to be used and imported into Israel, the Ministry of Health said on Monday.

Israel had already considered removing CBD from its list of dangerous substances on several occasions, without ever implementing the measure. Last December, the country set up a committee to examine the consequences of removing CBD from the list of restricted substances.

The committee reviewed existing information on the safety of products for consumer use. It recommended that the Department of Health remove CBD from the list of dangerous drugs, provided that the maximum concentration of CBD products does not exceed 0.2% of THC. Israeli Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz has, however, adjusted the maximum concentration level to 0.3% THC.

However, CBD will not go on sale over the counter in Israel tomorrow. The committee recommended a 2-year period during which studies will determine the safeguards necessary for the incorporation of CBD in food and cosmetics.

In the meantime, a system of supervision and enforcement for cosmetics and foods should be put in place in light of the widespread use and popularity of CBD products, including the purchase of unsupervised products over the Internet.

«There's a lot of prejudice about everything to do with Cannabis plant« Horowitz said of his department's decision. «Today we begin releasing a component on which there is broad consensus and which should not be defined as a dangerous drug: CBD.»

«For several years now, Israel has been lagging behind the world's advanced countries in this area, and it continues to incriminate and prevent the use of components that are not not dangerous to public health« he declared. «We are now going to catch up.

Calling this decision «the first step required, and certainly not the last, in regulating the cannabis market and the change in general attitude towards its effects and benefits», Horowitz reassured the public that Israel, like other advanced countries, will soon allow the marketing and sale of consumer products containing CBD.