Administrative Petition (Jerusalem) 36070-08-24 Maor Algali v. Director General of the Ministry of Health

Counsel for the petitioners:     Adv. Ilan Bombach

Respondents’ counsel: Adv. Jenny Butbul Zelinger (Jerusalem District Attorney’s Office – civil)

Judgment

In the petition, the petitioners seek to cancel the decision of the Ministry of Health (hereinafter also - the Ministry) of July 25, 2024, which was made following a hearing held for the petitioners.  The main points of the decision are that Petitioner 1 (hereinafter - the Petitioner) is no longer authorized to practice in the field of medical cannabis; Petitioner 2 (hereinafter also - the Tiberias branch) will not be renewed from its license to practice medical cannabis (which expires on December 10, 2024); Petitioner 3's application (hereinafter also - the Kiryat Ata branch) to receive a license to practice medical cannabis was rejected and that it will not be granted a license to practice in medical cannabis, as long as the petitioner is its owner or position holder.

The petition was filed on August 14, 2024, and as will be further detailed, it was preceded by more than ten petitions, eight of which were submitted to this court over a period of about ten months (between August 2023 and May 2024), and all of them were rejected or deleted.  Despite this, those petitions were not mentioned in the petition under discussion (contrary to Regulation 5(b)(9) of the Administrative Courts Regulations (Procedures), 5761-2000).

The respondents' response was submitted on November 1, 2024, and the hearing took place on November 10, 2024.

Normative background

2. The cannabis plant is not registered as a medicinal (drug), but is defined as a dangerous drug, As defined inThe Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (New Version), 5733-1973 (hereinafter - Drug Ordinance), and in accordance with Part A of the First Addendum to the Ordinance. Therefore, The use of the plant or any other action, including self-use, licenses to grow, manufacture, supply or possession, require a license from respondent 1 (hereinafter - The Director) (e.g., sections 6, 7 & 13 in the Drugs Ordinance).  According to Regulation 5 IIDangerous Drugs Regulations, 5740-1979 (hereinafter - Drug Regulations), the applicant for a license to manufacture, possess or use a dangerous drug must submit an application to the Director, stating the details listed in the Regulation.  The Director has broad discretion regarding the granting of licenses and has the authority to grant a license with or without restrictions.  Each license must be in writing, include the supplier's details, and be signed (Regulations 7-6 in the Drug Regulations).

In addition to the provisions of Israeli legislation on drugs, the State of Israel is also bound by the provisions of the "Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs" of 1961, to which it is a signatory, especially with regard to government supervision of cannabis.

3. Although the cannabis plant is not recognized as a medicinal product, in recent years there has been a growing body of evidence that its use may alleviate the suffering of patients suffering from certain medical conditions. Against this background, the Ministry of Health has worked to enable development in the field of cannabis treatment.  According to the Ministry's data, there are currently about 140,000 active licensees for the use of cannabis for medical purposes.

On June 26, 2016, Government Decision No. 1587 regarding the use of cannabis for medical and research purposes was passed (hereinafter: the Government Decision).  The decision stipulates that the Ministry of Health must promote an outline for regulating the use of cannabis for medical purposes, which will enable its supply to patients while maintaining public safety and preventing it from reaching non-medical needs (section 2).  The main points of the outline were detailed in the government's decision (section 3).  According to the provisions of the outline that was determined, its purpose is to set rules that will enable the occupation and treatment of cannabis products, so that it will be similar to dealing with drugs as much as possible.  Among them, rules have been set that will ensure a separation between the production, storage and dispensing procedures, as well as rules that, as is customary regarding medicines, will determine that the distribution will be done only in pharmacies and not in direct supply to the growers.