Chronic pain is, by a wide margin, the most common reason patients in Israel are prescribed medical cannabis. This guide explains how access works for pain patients, how the country's pain specialists view the treatment, and what the available outcome data actually shows.
This guide is informational and is not medical advice. Chronic pain has many causes; treatment should be guided by a qualified physician.
The largest indication
Chronic non-cancer pain is the leading indication for medical cannabis in Israel, having grown from about 53% to 63% of approvals over the period covered by a comprehensive 2025 review — making it larger than all other indications combined (Journal of Cannabis Research, 2025). As of March 2025 there were roughly 129,900 active licences and prescriptions in the programme overall, following a gradual 7.5% decline after the 2024 HMO-led reform (Journal of Cannabis Research, 2025).
Among the pain conditions treated, neuropathic pain is the most common, alongside oncological pain and various intractable pain syndromes.
How access works for pain patients
Chronic neuropathic pain typically requires a pain-clinic recommendation and a documented history of standard treatments that have not provided adequate relief. Notably, chronic pain is one of the indications that remained under the direct authority of the Ministry of Health's Medical Cannabis Unit even after much prescribing was devolved to the health funds — so the pathway runs through a pain specialist rather than, in most cases, a GP at an HMO.
The 2024 reform that removed the "last resort" requirement applies here too: a pain specialist may now use clinical discretion rather than being required to exhaust every conventional option first, though in practice cannabis is generally considered after first-line treatments.
What pain specialists think
Israeli pain physicians are, on the whole, cautiously positive. In a survey of pain-medicine specialists, common indications for cannabis were neuropathic pain (65%), oncological pain (50%), arthralgias (25%) and intractable pain (29%). Around 63% rated cannabis as moderately to highly effective, and 56% reported encountering only mild or no side effects in their patients (Journal of Cannabis Research, 2025; Pain specialist survey, PMC).
What the outcome data shows
Real-world outcome data is moderate rather than dramatic. In a study of patients with various types of chronic pain licensed for medical cannabis in Israel — 1,045 patients at baseline — average pain intensity fell by about 20% at one year (Journal of Cannabis Research, 2025). That is a meaningful improvement for many patients, but it underlines that cannabis is a tool for managing pain, not eliminating it.
What this means for patients
For chronic-pain patients, cannabis is the most well-trodden route into Israel's medical cannabis programme: a large, established indication, handled by pain specialists, with a generally favourable view among the physicians who prescribe it and modest but real outcome data behind it. The practical first step is a referral to a pain clinic whose specialist can assess whether it fits your case.
For the application process, see how to get a medical cannabis licence in Israel; for costs, see how much medical cannabis costs; and for the full indication list, see qualifying conditions. The Patient Access hub ties it together.
Compiled and reviewed by Tamar Levin, Editor. Sources are linked inline. This guide is informational and is not medical or legal advice; consult a licensed physician about your own treatment.
More on this topic: Patient Access.