Cannabis decriminalization bill shelved for Erdan committee
The committee will include representatives of the Public Security Ministry, Justice Ministry, Anti-Drug Authority, as well as Haskel, and is expected to present recommendations within two months.
By LAHAV HARKOVMK Sharren Haskel (Likud)(photo credit: FACEBOOK)
MK Sharren Haskel (Likud) pulled her bill to decriminalize personal cannabis use Monday, after Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan agreed to form a committee to examine the policy.Erdan opposed Haskel's bill, which was meant to be brought to a vote in the Ministerial Committee for Legislation.After several weeks of negotiations, Erdan and Haskel agreed to form a committee to "examine enforcement policy towards personal use of cannabis without changing the existing social norms about cannabis and general drug use."The committee will include representatives of the Public Security Ministry, Justice Ministry, Anti-Drug Authority, as well as Haskel, and is expected to present recommendations within two months.Haskel thanked Erdan for listening to her explanations of "the problems of the current enforcement policies, which were not updated in over a decade."I believe the committee's recommendations will bring a change in the field," she added.Currently, the law lists a sentence of up to three years in prison for a first cannabis offense, but most cases are closed due to lack of public interest if the perpetrator has under 15 grams of the drug. The sentence for a second offense is usually a suspended sentence probation, and the third is a prison sentence.