Over the past two years, plant-based food consumption has grown by 49% across the EU, reaching a total sales volume of €3.6 billion.
Israeli rabbis say medical marijuana is kosher
2025-05-15
A traditional Israeli rabbi has ruled that smoking and distributing medical marijuana is kosher, but its recreational use is strictly prohibited, Ma'ariv reported Friday.
Rabbi Efraim Zalmanovich of Mazkeret Batia, a small town south of Tel Aviv, recently instituted a halakhic code that prohibits excessive drug use to escape the world.
However, he concluded that if drugs help alleviate pain, then the person providing the drugs is doing a "good deed" and the person using the drugs is using them in a "Jewish manner."
According to Israel's health ministry, approximately 11,000 Israelis use medical marijuana.
According to Israel's Time magazine, Health Minister Yael·Jemen recently told the Israeli parliament that Israel distributes more marijuana than any other country in Europe.
Contrary to recent misconceptions, she said, "Israel distributes approximately 880 pounds (nearly 400 kilograms) of hashish every month. By comparison, the Netherlands only provides 330 pounds (nearly 150 kilograms) per year."