Cannabis Worse Than Covid, By Ziv Genesove

February 16, 2021 54

National Unity Goverment

The most widespread newspaper in Israel continues to fight for local public opinion and publishes headlines and content that severely undermines their credibility.

A "National unity government" is currently in place in Israel, containing several factors from the right and left side of the political spectrum. This government is severely criticized by the media and the public for not functioning, mainly because its members fail to reach agreement on almost anything.

Surprisingly, one of the only things that the current government officials do agree on is the need to regulate the cannabis market: if this government would persevere until the beginning of 2021, it is likely to assume that cannabis legalization would occur in Israel.

With the realization that the State of Israel is only a heartbeat away from such a historic move, various elements in the Israeli public became deranged, and they have decided to fight back - by any means necessary.

Between Legalization and Social Collapse

The newspaper "Israel Hayom" ("Israel Today") is distributed free of charge throughout the country and for this reason, is the most prevalent newspaper in Israel. The paper's founder and publisher, Jewish - American businessman Sheldon Adelson, is known for his fierce opposition to the easing of cannabis laws.

Since the end of 2019, when a trend began to accumulate among local politicians who declared that regulating the cannabis market (for recreational use) is a vital need, the paper was sure to publish opinion pieces that went against the move, trying to terrify the Israeli public with apocalyptic predictions of social collapse and even violation of state security as a result of a mass dysfunction of soldiers in the army.

A few months ago, they published an opinion column by diabetes expert Professor Itamar Raz. The column was edited, which led to the understanding that the professor compared cannabis to cocaine. While it later became clear that professor Raz is in fact supporting legalization.

This month the "Israel Hayom" newspaper has found a new "devil" to whom they can compare cannabis to - Covid19.

'A young girl sold her body for a toke'

After a rather pompous headline claiming that the harms of cannabis outweigh the harms of the coronavirus, the subheading in the paper reports that "dozens of seniors in the mental health system claim that legalization is a health disaster." The announcement is quite threatening, no doubt.

The opening of the article says that "A petition signed by dozens of experts in psychiatry, psychotherapists, social workers and activists in the fight against cannabis legalization calling Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to stop the run towards the legalization of the drug... according to their claims, the health damage from Covid 19 will be negligible compared to the health damage that the State of Israel will experience as a result of cannabis legalization."

Throughout the article, which was full of harsh prophecies about the dire consequences of legalization, not a single expert's name is mentioned in the text from the "dozen's" who professedly signed the petition, and no specialist is quoted other than lawyer Shai La'el who claims he initiated the petition. Mister La'el even mentioned a case of a young girl who became addicted to cannabis and had to sell her body time and time again just to ensure that she could get another toke.

It is highly doubtful that arguments that take us back to the 1930s and publications regarding a petition with "dozens of experts" without bothering to mention a single name, will make a big impression on the majority of the Israeli public in 2020, at days when cannabis consumption crosses all sectors of the local population. As mentioned, in the upcoming months we will find out if the politicians will keep their election promise and make cannabis legal for recreational use in the Holy land.

Written and Published By Ziv Genesove in Weed World Magazine Issue 149