Marijuana: Passover's new not so bitter herb04/21/2016
http://www.i24news.tv/en/news/israel/so ... itter-herbMarijuana is now kosher for Passover, a leading ultra-Orthodox Rabbi in Israel has ruled
Marijuana is now kosher for Passover, a leading ultra-Orthodox Rabbi in Israel has ruled, according to The Times of Israel news site.
Haredi Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky decided that it is safe to either smoke or eat marijuana during the eight-day holiday during which a number of strict dietary restrictions are observed as Jews remember the exodus from Egypt.
The question was posed to Rabbi Kanievsky the pro-marijuana group Siach, said The Times of Israel.
According to Ashkenazi tradition (central and eastern European Jews) marijuana belongs to the family of legumes called kitniyot, which are banned for Passover because they could sometimes be mixed with wheat and made into a form of unleavened bread. Removing all traces of leavening from one's house is one of the main practices of Passover.
Sephardi Jews on the other hand have far more lenient views on kitniyot, which also include corn and rice.
However, says Rabbi Kanievsky, marijuana is allowed if used in a medical capacity, for all Jews, said the Times of Israel.
The Rabbi even said that the leaves of the plant have a "healing smell."
The recreational use of cannabis is illegal in the Jewish state, but for the past 10 years its therapeutic use has not only been permitted but also encouraged.
Last year, doctors prescribed the herb to about 25,000 patients suffering from cancer, epilepsy, post-traumatic stress and degenerative diseases.
Marijuana is legal in four states in the US, decriminalized in 18 and legal for medical use in 25 states.