A special call has been made for the erasure of criminal records relating to the possession of use of cannabis for personal use.
President Isaac Herzog and the Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Minister Gideon Sa’ar have made the joint appeal.
The pair are asking anyone who has previously been convicted of cannabis-related offences, who have not previously been convicted of other offences, to submit a request for the expungement of their criminal record.
The call comes weeks after the Israeli government issued guidelines for the decriminalisation of recreational cannabis.
Read more: Israeli Minister for Justice issues new guidelines on decriminalisation
In February, Sa’ar put forward draft guidelines – the Administrative Rules and Order — Administrative Offenses – that would see possession of cannabis no longer treated as a criminal offence. People caught with cannabis would be issued with fines similar to traffic violations, with an initial 1,000 shekel fine and a second fine of 2000 shekels if caught again.
However, the new decriminalisation guidelines would not apply to those in the Israeli Defense Forces, prison wardens, and it would also see those with a previous record charged if caught.
Read more: Israeli medical cannabis company gets backing from leading healthcare providers
The call for expungement of records is aiming to erase the label of criminality and the associated stain from anyone who has previously committed the offence of personal possession or use of cannabis, according to the Israeli Government.
It has stated that every request will be considered on its merits, according to its particular circumstances, and on an individual basis.
The Israeli government stated: “This call is addressed to anyone who has been convicted of offenses involving possession or use of cannabis for personal consumption and has not previously been convicted of other offenses besides possession of instruments for the preparation and consumption of dangerous drugs for personal use alone.
“In the spirit of established law and policy, this call is not addressed to anyone who at the time of the offense was a minor or a soldier as defined in the Military Justice Law.”
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