Getting medical cannabis in Israel is a structured, doctor-gated process run through the Ministry of Health and, since 2024, increasingly through the public health funds (HMOs) — see our Regulation hub for how those rules were built and which of them are now contested. This is a plain-English guide to how it works. It is general information, not medical or legal advice — always confirm current details with your physician, your HMO and the Ministry of Health.
Who is eligible
Cannabis in Israel is approved only for specific recognised indications, not as a general wellness option. The most common qualifying conditions include chronic and neuropathic pain, PTSD, the side effects of cancer treatment (such as nausea, appetite loss and weight loss), and a set of other defined conditions including Tourette syndrome with functional impairment and dementia accompanied by behavioural disorders. In practice, chronic non-cancer pain accounts for the largest share of approvals, followed by PTSD, which stayed under the Ministry's direct authority after the 2024 reform rather than moving to the health funds — see medical cannabis for PTSD in Israel. Conditions outside that list cannot be added by approaching a different specialist: anxiety and depression are not approved indications, and the Health Ministry lists severe anxiety among the reasons a permit will be refused — see can you get medical cannabis for anxiety or depression in Israel?.
A key principle: cannabis is generally treated as a later-line option, considered when standard treatments have been tried and have not worked well enough. Eligibility is decided on the medical merits of your case, not on demand. Children are licensed through the same Ministry machinery by a still more restrictive specialist-led route, and because every dispensing event is recorded nationally, Israel can say unusually precisely how paediatric treatment actually goes — see medical cannabis for children in Israel. At the other end of the age range, patients aged 60 and over make up a large share of the programme, and a run of Israeli geriatric studies has tracked how treatment actually goes for them — see medical cannabis for older adults in Israel.
The process, step by step
1. See the right specialist. A family doctor generally cannot initiate a cannabis request. The recommendation must come from a specialist physician in the relevant field — for example, a pain specialist, oncologist or psychiatrist — who is treating your condition and is authorised to recommend cannabis.
2. Get a medical recommendation. If the specialist judges that cannabis may help, they prepare a detailed recommendation documenting your diagnosis, prior treatments and the proposed cannabis therapy.
3. Approval and the licence or prescription. The recommendation goes to the Medical Cannabis Unit at the Ministry of Health (or, for many indications now, is handled within your HMO). If approved, you receive authorisation specifying your monthly dosage and the treatment period.
4. Fill it at an authorised pharmacy. With a valid licence or prescription you obtain product from a pharmacy licensed to dispense cannabis, within the dosage on your authorisation. Not every pharmacy is licensed to dispense cannabis, and the Ministry publishes the current list of authorised dispensing pharmacies (Hebrew). For the growers, producers and pharmacy operators behind the products on those shelves, see our directory of Israeli cannabis operators and the companies hub.
Two routes to a permit, and how long each takes
The Ministry of Health describes two ways to submit a request, and they do not take the same amount of time (Ministry of Health, How to Request a Medical Cannabis Permit):
- Through a treating specialist. The specialist submits a comprehensive medical endorsement to the Medical Cannabis Unit. It is forwarded, with the medical records, to a doctor at the unit for review — which the Ministry says takes about one week on average. The decision is then sent by email to the address given in the request.
- Through a doctor who holds issuing authorisation. A doctor authorised to issue permits can consider the request within the appointment itself and, if they endorse cannabis treatment, issue the permit on the spot. The Ministry publishes a register of doctors authorised to issue a permit (Hebrew).
The Ministry draws one line sharply: a private doctor cannot grant a permit. Private physicians may submit a request to the Medical Cannabis Unit on a patient's behalf, but the issuing authority is not theirs — which is worth knowing before paying for a private consultation on the assumption that it ends with a permit in hand. The criteria the reviewers apply are set out in the Ministry's Procedure 106 (gov.il, Hebrew).
A permit is also conditional on continuing oversight. The Ministry states that issuing one depends on medical supervision by a doctor at least once a year, or more frequently at the doctor's discretion, and that the permit carries the supervising doctor's details. A request made for a non-psychiatric indication by someone with a history of mental health conditions additionally requires that doctor's opinion to accompany the application.
What the 2024 HMO reform changed
The biggest recent change is administrative. A 2024 reform moved much of the program into the health funds. Under it, patients with chronic pain or PTSD continue to receive Ministry licences, while many other recognised indications now receive prescriptions issued through the HMOs instead. The intent was to fold cannabis into mainstream care, but the practical effect for some patients has been stricter gatekeeping and more paperwork — one reason the national patient count declined for the first time after the reform. If you are renewing rather than starting, expect more involvement from your HMO than in previous years. For the licence and prescription counts behind that shift, see how many medical cannabis patients are in Israel and our market overview.
Products and formats
Israeli medical cannabis comes in several forms: dried flower (for inhalation), oils and extracts taken orally, capsules, and metered-dose inhalers. Dried flower has historically dominated, making up the large majority of usage. Note an important caveat for the years ahead: a Health Ministry committee has proposed phasing out smokable cannabis in favour of oils, extracts and inhalers, though that proposal has been frozen rather than enacted. If it ever advances, the mix of available formats could shift substantially; the full account is in is Israel banning smoked medical cannabis?.
Products are specified by their THC and CBD content and are sold under standardised categories, so a prescription typically corresponds to a defined product profile rather than a brand. For a plain-English explainer of the body's own cannabinoid network, see the endocannabinoid system explained. The CBD products sold outside this system, without a prescription, are a separate legal category entirely — exempt from the drug ordinance only below a defined THC threshold, as explained in is CBD legal in Israel?.
What it costs
Medical cannabis is not included in the national health basket, which means patients largely pay out of pocket. There are typically deductible-style charges from the HMO for the medical examination, the permit and the prescription, and then the product cost at the pharmacy. The Ministry notes that this flat-rate deductible is updated from time to time and is valid for one year from the date the prescription is issued (Ministry of Health). Because pharmacies set their own prices and discounts, costs vary — legal pharmacy flower commonly runs in the range of roughly ₪100–350 per 10 grams depending on product and outlet. Monthly cost depends on your prescribed dosage. Some patients — notably certain disabled IDF veterans — have part or all of their treatment funded. For a full breakdown of fees, the 2019 shift to per-product pricing, pharmacy price ranges and who qualifies for funded treatment, see our guide to how much medical cannabis costs in Israel.
Practical tips
Start with the specialist who already treats your condition, since they are best placed to make the case. Keep documentation of prior treatments, as recognised indications generally expect that conventional options have been tried first. Build in time: approvals and renewals are not instant, and the HMO-routed process can involve scheduling a physician meeting, especially for renewals beyond six months. And confirm pricing at more than one authorised pharmacy, since prices are not fixed. Visiting Israel, or moving here as a new immigrant? Foreign cannabis licences are not recognised and there is no tourist pathway — see cannabis in Israel for tourists.
Detailed guides
For step-by-step depth on each part of the process, see our patient-access guides — part of the full Cannabisrael guides library:
- How to get a medical cannabis licence in Israel — the application pathway, who can prescribe, and timelines.
- Renewing a medical cannabis licence in Israel — renewal intervals, which track your indication sits on after the 2024 HMO reform, and how to avoid a gap.
- Qualifying conditions for medical cannabis in Israel — the approved indications and how eligibility is judged.
- Medical cannabis for PTSD in Israel — how many patients hold PTSD licences, full Ministry of Defense funding for combat-related cases, and why PTSD stayed under the Ministry's direct authority after the 2024 reform.
- Can you get medical cannabis for anxiety or depression in Israel? — why neither is an approved indication, and why severe anxiety can block a permit sought for something else.
- Medical cannabis for children in Israel — which paediatric indications are licensed, what the national cohort data shows, and why most families stop within six months.
- Medical cannabis for older adults in Israel — what Israel's geriatric studies found about pain, function, side effects and why patients stop.
- Medical cannabis for cancer in Israel — who qualifies, which specialist prescribes, what the Israeli evidence shows, and the cost.
- How much does medical cannabis cost in Israel? — licence fees, pharmacy pricing and who qualifies for funded treatment.
- Where to buy medical cannabis in Israel — the Health Ministry's list of licensed pharmacies, what to bring, what a pharmacist may substitute, and why prices differ.
- Can tourists use cannabis in Israel? — foreign licences, bringing your own, and recreational rules for visitors.
- Cannabis oil, vaporisers and inhalers in Israel — the non-smoked formats, how onset and dosing differ, and what the Israeli evidence shows.
Related: Regulation · Market overview · Research legacy
Compiled and reviewed by Tamar Levin, Editor. Sources are linked inline. This page is reviewed and refreshed periodically; it is informational and is not medical or legal advice.