Marijuana Goes Local in Israel

Image by thinkstock

Talia Lavin November 13, 2013

(JTA) — Taking a puff is going local in the Jewish state.

According to a Bloomberg report, Israel’s tightened border security — aimed at curbing the influx of African migrants, as well as securing the country against potential threats from Lebanon and Syria — has also had the effect of hampering the country’s supply of marijuana and hashish.

The result has been a surge in home-grown product, which some Israeli marijuana enthusiasts describe as more potent than the version smuggled in from neighboring Arab countries. According to David Wachtel, head of the Ale Yarok marijuana-legalization party (which memorably teamed up with Holocaust survivors in a Knesset campaign), this is good news.

After all, “Some hash coming in from Lebanon was just clay mixed with sap,” he told Bloomberg. While many countries have struggled with formulating an effective drug policy, Israel’s situation is complicated by the country’s unique geo-political position. Some of the marijuana enthusiasts Wainer interviews express relief that getting stoned no longer means supporting anti-Israel militant groups like Hezbollah (Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley, a Hezbollah stronghold, is also home to the country’s thriving illicit-drug trade, including hashish cultivation).

Nevertheless, Israeli authorities still regularly raid domestic marijuana-growing operations.

Although medical marijuana is approved for use in Israel, just 26 percent of the population supports full legalization. Still, Israeli marijuana-lovers can breathe a sigh of relief (and, presumably, a lungful of potent smoke) knowing that more of their weed is being grown close to home.

Talia Lavin is a fact checker for the New Yorker and a Forward columnist writing about Jews in American politics.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of the Forward. Discover more perspectives in Opinion. To contact Opinion authors, email [email protected].

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO