Israel, one of the leading countries in the world to facilitate research on cannabis, is picking quite a buzz on the streets with the push to make marijuana legal. The interesting part is that the usual suspects are not the primary reason for it; rather businessmen and politicians have taken on the grounds.

Sharren Haskel, aged 32, the youngest member of Israel’s legislative assembly, is proposing a bill to reduce the possession of cannabis and its usage to be seen as an administrative offense rather than criminal offense. In this bill, anyone in Israel caught with the possession of cannabis in private would be penalized to pay a fine of 300 shekel (USD 81), while if anyone is caught using it in public would have to pay a penalty of 1,500 shekel (USD 405).

According to Haskel, once Israel has fully decriminalized cannabis, the lawmakers will then be able to evaluate whether total legalization of marijuana will be a prudent step.

Haskel’s proposed bill is the latest vigorous push that was required to legalize the drug. The country has just passed laws related to exports of medical cannabis. Medical marijuana is legal in the country through a valid prescription. Although the recreational usage of the drug is still under scrutiny and not legal, getting caught with marijuana or using can lead to severe fines, criminal history, and jail times.

The Israelis face tedious hurdles to obtain medical marijuana; this brought Haskel’s interest towards decriminalizing marijuana.

She said on the concerned issue, “The more I saw how incredible this medicine works on certain people, the more I said I cannot ignore that, If I am a parliament member and I know I can assist citizens in living a normal life, it’s my duty and obligation.” She has recruited lawmakers from Joint Arab List and Jewish Home, including a broad coalition to support her bill.

Gilad Erdan, the Public Security Minister of Israel, announced a policy to counter cannabis usage with certain administrative and education fines instead of criminal penalizations for those caught with possession of marijuana (less than 15 grams).

The efforts to decriminalize cannabis make the nation a trendsetter amongst the global community. The process is taking place in the entire world, and it doesn’t matter what anyone’s political agenda is as long as they stand together for the same cause.