Cannabis — Israel
What travelers need to know about cannabis in Israel. What is legal at home can be a serious crime here — each rule links to its official source.
Cannabis in Israel: restricted — there are real limits travelers must follow.
Cannabis is illegal in Israel, but since 1 April 2022 possessing or using it for your own consumption is normally handled as an administrative offence with a fixed fine - 500 shekels for possession, or 1,000 shekels for using it in a public place - instead of prosecution. It is still an offence: paying the fine is not a conviction, but a prosecutor can decide to bring charges instead, and the fine track does not apply to soldiers, certain police and prison-service personnel, or prisoners. There is no legal way for a visitor to buy cannabis, the medical programme runs through Israeli specialist doctors, and bringing cannabis into the country is a separate and far more serious offence that is banned outright in airports and at border crossings.
Possession for your own use normally draws a fixed administrative fine of 500 shekels; using cannabis in a public place draws 1,000 shekels, and a public place includes a motor vehicle and anywhere visible from a public place. Paying the fine is not a criminal conviction, but the conduct remains an offence: section 22a(a) of the Administrative Offences Law states expressly that designating an offence as an administrative offence does not change the classification of the offence, a prosecutor may file charges instead before a fine notice is served, and you can also be prosecuted if you ask to be tried. The fine track does not apply to soldiers, certain police and prison-service personnel, or prisoners. Selling, supplying and importing cannabis are separate and far more serious offences.
§ Israel Ministry of Justice, Enforcement and Collection Authority - announcement of the Administrative Offences Regulations (Administrative Fine - Possession of Cannabis and Use for Personal Consumption), 5782-2022Verified Aug 16, 2026