Israel is planning a series of reforms to tackle the rise in prices

Deputy Health Minister of Israel, Yoav Kish, has drafted a series of amendments to the medical cannabis reform including sections that are supposed to solve the main problem: the sharp rise in prices. Right now, patients have to pay up to four times more than they paid before, which harms both them and manufacturers who do not receive an export permit abroad.

Among the changes: direct marketing “from the factory to the patient,” cannabis under the prescription of a specialist doctor, a partial subsidy from the state budget, legal CBD (also locally grown by medical cannabis companies), export abroad and more.

Updated details on the medical cannabis industry will also be presented this week. About 70,000 patients pay an average of $70 (NIS 238) for a 10-gram package and $240 (NIS 815) per month. Every month, 2,345 kg of cannabis is sold in pharmacies, and in total the medical cannabis market generates sales of $200 million (NIS 670 million) a year in pharmacies.

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Patients will be able to obtain cannabis prescriptions from specialist doctors

A very significant change that Kish is trying to lead is that the entire field of medical cannabis treatment will pass from the Medical Cannabis Unit (ICRC) to the Physicians’ Federation (HRI), which will be solely responsible for certifying physicians, formulating the clinical method, prescribing and so on.

As part of this move, the plan presented in the days of Minister Litzman should be implemented, which will allow a cannabis prescription to be obtained from a specialist doctor, without the need for a license from the Ministry of Health, as it is currently the case. A patient or person who wishes to become a patient will consult a specialist doctor in the relevant field, and if he meets the threshold requirements ( Procedure 106 ) he will be able to obtain a prescription. 

The ministry later hopes that in the case of chronic diseases, patients will be able to renew their license through a family doctor.

This effectively blocked the plan approved last year in the Knesset and was supposed to reduce the costs of issuing and renewing cannabis licenses up to a maximum of $80 (NIS 278) within the framework of public medicine and without the intervention of the Knesset.

Direct marketing of cannabis could reduce the cost of purchasing

A significant line that may reduce the cost of purchasing cannabis for patients by more than 20% and received by the Ministry of Health, is to allow direct marketing, “from the factory to the patient,” i.e. without having to go through pharmacies that charge an average of 25%.

This does not mean that pharmacies will not be able to continue to sell cannabis, but that any factory or trading house will be able to employ a pharmacist and issue products to patients directly, as long as it is done in accordance with pharmacy procedures, or similar procedures. The prices committee revealed that the share of pharmacies is 31%.

The Ministry of Health also agreed to allow companies to grow cannabis even in open fields, without a greenhouse or a closed facility, in order to lower production costs. Such growth will be possible however only for the production of extracts and oils (API) and not for the production of inflorescences. The fields will be charged with the same security standards.

Israel’s government is planning to subsidize cannabis

At the same time, the Deputy Minister will announce that he is working to receive $30 million (NIS 100 million) from the Ministry of Finance, from the state budget, for the purpose of subsidizing the costs of cannabis for patients. 

At this stage he is not sure that he will actually receive the budget and there is another debate as to how to distribute the subsidy – whether to give a small discount to everyone or a big discount to some patients with certain diseases.

According to his estimate, if $30 million (NIS 100 million) is distributed to all patients, this may lead to a discount of about 20% on the average cost. In the second phase, the Ministry of Health hopes to receive an additional $90 million (NIS 300 million) a year and thus reach a discount of up to 50% for patients. 

The discount will only be given to patients who are entitled to up to 60 grams per month, which, according to Mashab, constitute 95% of the rule. The remaining 5%, with licenses over 60 grams, will be answered through an Exceptions Committee.

Cannabis export permits are also being discussed

Another move that should reduce costs for patients is an export permit abroad that will be given to companies after receiving the $30 million (NIS 100 million) budget from the Treasury. A company that wants to export will undertake in return to provide a minimum required quantity of cannabis in each category and at low prices. 

However, the Ministry of Health has not set a minimum quality but only a minimum quantity, which means that a company may prefer to sell better quality products abroad.

Another line for Israeli cannabis companies in terms of export permits is that they will be allowed, in addition to the wholesale export of inflorescences and oils, also the export of genetics, of imprisoned seeds, and not just of finished products as originally stipulated. Another relief would be to extend the validity of manufacturers’ licenses in the industry from one sub-industry every three years, starting from the second renewal onwards, if they meet the relevant requirements.

A new draft bill could make CBD legal in the coming months

A team from the Ministry of Health drafted a new government bill to exclude CBD from the Drug Ordinance after the previous draft was rejected due to the 3 long election campaigns. Under the new wording, which is still required for a short legislative process in government, CBD and virtually all non-THC cannabinoids will be completely exempted from the Drug Ordinance.

This change will result in any product containing less than 0.3% THC being considered legal, as a food additive. An examination showed that the intention is to enable Israeli cannabis companies to produce CBD products for the leisure, cosmetics, and food supplements market within the area of ​​their existing facilities. Those who do not hold a growing or manufacturing license will be able to import CBD products from abroad and market them as any other food supplement.

Cannabis companies will also be required to show not just the percentages of CBD and THC, but also to print the barcode on any packaging (its scan will usually show the percent of active ingredients in the batch), and manufacturer details, and other relevant details.

Pharmacies will undergo digitization in the near future

Another important issue for patients is the full range of cannabis available at any given time in the various pharmacies. This area will undergo digitization that will allow patients to be exposed to up-to-date inventory at any given moment, something they currently do with the help of private initiatives. The official system will allow each patient to know what inventory is available at each store.

It will also be stipulated that pharmacists will be able to take an online course for the purpose of certification for cannabis issuance, which will shorten the existing procedure and allow more pharmacists and pharmacies to operate in the field and thus shorten the length of queues in some stores. It will also allow factories and retailers to hire pharmacists as soon as possible to conduct direct marketing quickly.

However, despite all the promises, it is not entirely clear when exactly all this will happen. Kish’s office estimates that it will be at least a few weeks and some even say might take a few months.

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(Featured image by Add Weed via Unsplash)

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