Health Minister Haim Katz on Wednesday froze the implementation of Health Ministry recommendations that would sharply restrict the marketing and use of smoked medical cannabis within three years.
Katz instructed ministry Director General Moshe Bar Siman-Tov to halt all activity related to implementing the recommendations after receiving a professional briefing on the issue.
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Health Minister Haim Katz and ministry Director General Moshe Bar Siman-Tov
(Photo: Ido Erez)
“I was not sufficiently convinced that there is justification for implementing the recommendations, given the possible harm to patients,” Katz said.
Katz said that as the minister who previously regulated the field in Israel, he had seen the suffering of patients who struggled to obtain medical cannabis prescriptions.
“Even if tighter supervision is needed, going backward, complicating the process and restricting the use of medical cannabis is not the way,” he said.
Bar Siman-Tov accepted the minister’s decision and will act according to his policy.
The move came three days after a special Health Ministry committee published recommendations calling for the gradual end of smoked medical cannabis within three years. The committee was established by Bar Siman-Tov and headed by Dr. Gilad Bodenheimer, head of the ministry’s mental health division, after Israel became the world leader in medical cannabis use relative to population size.
According to the committee, the number of medical cannabis license holders in Israel rose from 33,000 in 2019 to 140,000 today. It found that 87% of patients use cannabis by smoking, 88% of licenses are for high-THC products and 62% of patients consume more than 30 grams a month, with some using twice that amount.
The committee said smoked cannabis is not a legitimate medical format because of its health risks and because dosage and absorption are inconsistent. It said most countries that permit medical cannabis no longer allow smoking. During a transition period, smoking would have been allowed only in exceptional cases, before being replaced by inhalers.
The committee also urged greater caution in treating post-trauma patients, a category that has expanded significantly since Oct. 7, saying existing studies point to possible long-term harm and do not sufficiently prove the treatment’s benefit. It also recommended transferring care to Israel’s health funds for closer monitoring.
The recommendations drew strong criticism from patients and advocacy groups, who warned they could harm thousands of patients, including post-trauma victims and people with chronic illnesses, and push some users to the black market.
Prof. Hagai Levine, chairman of the Israeli Association of Public Health Physicians, criticized Katz’s decision, saying the current situation harms patients, the health system and Israeli society.