Israeli Justice Minister Gideon Sa’ar proposed new guidelines last week which further move the consumption of cannabis away from a criminal offense and propose essentially creating an administrative one, punishable with a maximum fine of 1,000 shekels (about $310). Fines would also be limited for members of the Israeli Defense Forces, police, and minors who are excluded from the new regulation. Possession will now be treated like a traffic offense.

Prosecution will not be allowed except under “exceptional cases” and does not distinguish between a first and subsequent offense.  Under current guidelines, possession is fined on the first and second offense. Under current regulations, a first offense is fined at 1,000 shekels. A second offense is 2,000 shekels and a third offense is considered a criminal violation requiring a conditional settlement deal. A fourth offense could result in conviction.

The new guidelines are still temporary—there is every sense of a holding action here—but are set to replace the measures in place since 2019 and which expire in March. 

However, this is far from the full and final victory many Israelis have been hoping, if not lobbying, for. Without this extension, the use of cannabis would have reverted to a fully criminal offense. 

Full legalization was proposed two years ago by the previous justice minister, Avi Nissenkorn, but this has been delayed by a change of government. The new government, however, appears to be content with hanging on to the status quo, no matter how temporary, instead of actually codifying full recreational reform into law. 

The new legislation still needs to be approved by the Constitution and the Law and Justice Committee.

Israel is not the only country now hanging onto prohibition laws by a thread after proposing a final change. The government in Luxembourg has repeatedly stalled on their promise to bring full reform into law by next year, proposing a seed market instead. Portugal’s reform, long in the works, was also stymied last year by the fall of the last government. In Germany, despite the new traffic light coalition putting this issue on their agenda, recent discussion has been to push the entire conversation back so the government can focus on COVID.

The Oldest Medical Market

Israel has the distinction of having the world’s oldest medical market as well as the largest one. The depth of research in the country leads the world simply because cannabinoid science was invented here by Raphael Mechoulam after WWII.

Even these developments have not been without controversy. Despite leading the world in cannabis research for the latter half of the last century and the first two decades of this one, Israeli patients have had to fight for further reform and access just like in other countries. In 2014, for example, Israeli parents, frustrated with a lack of access to even low-THC cannabis, threatened the government that they would immigrate to Colorado. The threat worked, and greater access occurred within the next months.

Recreational reform, however, along with exports has repeatedly stalled over the last years mainly due to opposition from the country’s extreme right wing as well as the overarching issues of flying in the face of international law, which still regards cannabis as a Schedule I drug.

What Could Move the Needle in Israel?

At this point, the Israelis, just like other countries, are on the verge of full reform, but nobody really seems to have an appetite for moving forward too aggressively. 

The entire discussion also remains a highly politicized one, just about everywhere.

That said, Israel is likely to move forward with reform this year or next if either the United States or Germany decides to implement federal recreational reform. In the latter case, the Israelis have been eyeing the growing medical market with interest—indeed some firms now sell their products here (although not flower). Israeli firms were also left out of the first cultivation bid here in 2017, and none won the bid as of 2019. That went to Canadian firms Aphria (now merged with Tilray), Aurora and Demecan, a German firm which essentially replaced Wayland.

Former Israeli politicians like Ehud Olmert and Ehud Barak (both former prime ministers), Tzipi Livni, former foreign minister, former police commissioner Zohanan Danino and retired Shin Bet security agency director Yaakov Peri are all flocking to the industry now, trying to move the issue domestically with their domestic capital.

Over 100,000 Israelis have permits to consume the drug medically, a 16-fold increase in just the last decade. This increase has come largely because of protests and subsequent reform which make it easier for doctors to prescribe cannabis for a range of conditions, including chronic pain, cancer, PTSD, epilepsy and similar conditions.

Medical cannabis consumption was 43 metric tons in 2021 according to the Health Ministry and worth around $264 million—about $7 million less than the entire European market (of which Germany is the largest consumer).

Full recreational reform will clearly juice the industry here, just like everywhere else.

The question remains, however, when this final move will come. In the meantime, small victories count.

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Officials in Austin, Texas have officially given the green light to a cannabis decriminalization initiative now set to appear in an upcoming ballot.

On January 18, the Austin City Council in Texas voted to allow the ballot initiative known as the “Austin Freedom Act of 2021” on the upcoming special election on May 7. The Act will stop local law enforcement from convicting residents of low-level cannabis offenses, and will prohibit “no knock” warrants by police as well.

The initiative is supported by an organization called Ground Game Texas (GGT). “Thanks to the tireless efforts of the on-the-ground organizers from Ground Game Texas and partner organizations, Austin residents will soon have the ability to make lasting change to our antiquated and racist criminal justice laws,” said Ground Game Texas Political Director Mike Siegel when the organization first received approval from the City Clerk in December 2021. “With successful campaigns like these, Ground Game Texas will continue to empower and excite communities around progressive change—and deliver for the marginalized communities that too often get left behind.”

The group collected 33,332 signatures, although only 20,000 was necessary. State law requires that 25 percent of randomly selected signatures needs to be verified, which came up to 8,334 of the signatures. Of those, 2,455 were disqualified (due to duplicates, missing signature or other reasons), but the remaining 5,879 passed the test.

Further celebration was in order when GGT received news that their petition was approved on January 10, followed by the city council’s approval on January 18.

“It’s official! Austin will hold an election May 7, 2022 on the Austin Freedom Act. Voters will be able to pass a new city law that (1) ends enforcement of marijuana possession and (2) bans dangerous ‘no knock’ warrants. Thank you to everyone who got us this far—now let’s win!” the organization wrote on Twitter. GGT also proceeded to share information on how local advocates can volunteer their time to support the cause as it begins to fight for decriminalization in other cities across Texas.

The Austin Police Department originally announced the end of cannabis convictions back in 2020, stating that citations would only be given “unless there is an immediate threat to a person’s safety or doing so is part of the investigation of a high priority, felony-level narcotics case or the investigation of a violent felony,” according to KVUE. The Austin Freedom Act of 2021 makes decriminalization official, stating that if passed by voters, Class A or Class B possession offenses would not be issued by law enforcement unless the situation involves a high priority “felony level narcotics case” or “investigation of a violent felony.”

Furthermore, if passed, the Act would ban “no knock” warrants. “’No knock’ search warrants shall not be used. No Austin police officer may request, execute, or participate in the execution of any search warrant that does not require the officer to knock and announce their presence and wait at least 15 seconds prior to execution.”

Only medical cannabis is legal in the state of Texas. The medical cannabis program was recently updated in July 2021 when Governor Greg Abbott signed House Bill 1535 into law. This expanded to include post-traumatic stress disorder and all types of cancer as qualifying conditions to register in the state’s medical cannabis program. It also raised the THC limitation from 0.5 percent THC to “one percent by dry weight.”

Recently, the topic of smokable hemp reached the Texas Supreme Court in early January, which effectively challenged the ban. Presiding judge Lora Livingston ruled that banning smokable hemp is unconstitutional, and issued a permanent injunction preventing the Texas Department of Health Services from enforcing it.

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An analysis of statistical data has found that cannabis decriminalization laws reduce, but not eliminate, the racial disparity in cannabis arrests that has plagued the United States for decades. However, the reduction in racial disparity was observed primarily among adults, and the research failed to reveal a similar drop among arrests of young people.

In a study published recently in the peer-reviewed academic journal Social Science & Medicine, researchers affiliated with the University of California San Diego reviewed statistics from the FBI Uniform Crime Report from 2000 through 2019. Using data from 37 U.S. states including 11 states that passed marijuana decriminalization laws during that time period, researchers calculated cannabis possession arrest rates separately for Black and white people.

“Cannabis decriminalization was associated with substantially lower cannabis possession arrest rates among both adults and youths and among both Blacks and whites,” the researchers wrote in their conclusion. “It reduced racial disparity between Blacks and whites among adults but not youths.”

The 11 states that had enacted cannabis decriminalization measures saw a 70 percent reduction in total adult cannabis arrests after decriminalization, as well as a 40 percent reduction in cannabis arrests among young people. Analysis by researchers showed that the racial disparity in arrests of Black and white adults decreased significantly, dropping by 17 percent after cannabis decriminalization.

“Cannabis decriminalization seemed to be particularly beneficial to Blacks, who were suffering the most from the adverse consequences of criminal penalties,” the researchers wrote in their report. “Taken together, we recommend that lawmakers and public health researchers reconsider cannabis decriminalization as an option of cannabis liberalization, particularly in states concerning the unintended consequences and implementation costs of medical and recreational cannabis legalization.” 

However, the data failed to show a significant reduction in the racial disparity in arrests of Black people younger than 18 years old. The authors of the study suggested that the rate among young people may have remained steady partly because of the larger disparity among adults before decriminalization, “providing a greater room for reduction.” Among all 37 states analyzed, Black adults were on average four times more likely than white adults to be arrested for a cannabis offense, while Black young people were 1.8 times likelier to face a cannabis arrest than their white peers.

Racial Disparity in Cannabis Arrests Well Documented

The racial disparity in cannabis arrests in the United States has been well documented for decades, despite research consistently showing that the different racial groups use marijuana at a similar rate. 

In a 2020 report from the American Civil Liberties Union, researchers noted that arrests for cannabis possession were down 18 percent since 2010. But law enforcement still made six million such arrests made between 2010 and 2018, and Black people were more likely to be arrested for cannabis possession than white people in all 50 states, including those that have legalized cannabis.

“On average, a Black person is 3.64 times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than a white person, even though Black and white people use marijuana at similar rates,” the ACLU wrote in its report. “Just as before, such racial disparities in marijuana possession arrests exist across the country, in every state, in counties large and small, urban and rural, wealthy and poor and with large and small Black populations.”

“Indeed, in every state and in over 95 percent of counties with more than 30,000 people in which at least 1 percent of the residents are Black, Black people are arrested at higher rates than white people for marijuana possession,” the report continued.

Despite the evidence that shows marijuana decriminalization laws can reduce the racial disparity in cannabis arrests, marijuana policy reform alone has not yet solved the problem. No state, even those that have enacted the broadest cannabis reforms, saw the rate of marijuana arrests become proportionately equal among Blacks and whites.

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St. Louis Mayor Tishaura O. Jones signed a cannabis decriminalization ordinance this week, saying the measure will help address racial disparities in the city’s enforcement of cannabis prohibition laws. Jones approved the measure, which was passed by the Board of Alderman last month, at a signing ceremony held at City Hall on Monday.

The new ordinance, Board Bill 132, repeals city laws related to the possession of small amounts of cannabis and drug paraphernalia within the City of St. Louis. The mayor’s office noted in a statement that the measure is consistent with Amendment 2, the 2018 ballot measure that legalized medical marijuana in Missouri after receiving the approval of 82 percent of St. Louis voters and more than 65 percent of the vote statewide.

Jones noted that the ordinance is the latest step in her “mission to put the public back in public safety,” noting that over the last three years, almost 600 have been arrested in St. Louis for marijuana-related charges. Of them, nearly 500 were Black.

“We are seeing a major shift in the way our country sees not just marijuana, but how it connects to public safety, incarceration, and economic opportunity in our communities,” Jones told reporters. “This law will help reduce racial disparities in our policing, make our city safer, and make St. Louis more competitive in hiring for city positions.”

Monday’s signing ceremony was attended by aldermen representing communities from across St. Louis. Alderman Bret Narayan, the bill’s sponsor, thanked the mayor and his colleagues, noting that the measure will also have other benefits for the city. 

“It’s rare that we see so many people from so many different backgrounds unite around a single cause, which is exactly what we have done here,” said Narayan. “This law represents the clear will of the people of St. Louis. It will allow for our law enforcement officials to use their resources on the most pressing issues in our region, help with labor shortages in our City departments, and will also help prevent our injured first responders from falling into the pitfalls of opiate addiction.”

Cannabis Decriminalization Measure Draws Wide Support

The measure was passed by the Board of Alderman on November 23. Narayan said at the time that the bill had broad support from city leaders.

“It has the buy-in from the public safety director,” Narayan said. “It has the buy-in from the director of personnel. We have talked to basically every stakeholder along the way.”

The St. Louis cannabis decriminalization measure also has the support of activists and representatives of Missouri’s growing medical cannabis industry. Tom Muzzey, the CEO of SWADE Cannabis, which operates five dispensaries within the city limits, said that “policy reform is vital, and we recognize that states and local jurisdictions are struggling to address the existing issues of social, economic, and racial inequity associated with cannabis.”

“As a leader in the industry, we believe it is our responsibility to assist with the narrative and offer guidance for all parties involved,” Muzzey continued. “Together, with our partners, we are committed to fighting for the changes needed to create a more just and equitable industry.”

Although the bill changes the city’s cannabis enforcement policy, Dan Viets, the executive director of the Missouri chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), noted that the new ordinance does not provide full protection from prosecution.

“If we only repeal the local ordinances, police still have the option to pursue charges under state law,” Viets said.

Viets said that the focus on cannabis reform must continue at the state level, noting that “19 states now have already legalized adult marijuana use.” Advocates of legalization are currently in the process of collecting the 170,000 signatures needed to put a recreational cannabis initiative on Missouri’s ballot for the 2022 election.

“It’s not a radical proposal at all,” Viets said. “It’s one which will result in much greater control of marijuana regulation. Taxation and legalization are better for everyone.”

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