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Middle East: Marijuana Not Kosher for Passover, Says Green Leaf Party

Submitted by Phillip Smith on (Issue #479)
Drug War Issues

Israel's Green Leaf Party, the country's leading marijuana reform advocacy organization, warned Wednesday that marijuana is not kosher for Passover. Jews who observe the week-long holiday's dietary laws should lay off the weed, the group said.

According to Green Leaf, rabbis have grouped marijuana products along with a family of foods including peas, beans, and lentils that are forbidden to observant Jews during Passover according to the European tradition of rabbinic interpretation. Passover begins on Monday.

Passover ritual 'seder plate' (courtesy Wikimedia)
"We are warning our people not to eat anything with hemp products if they follow the practice of kitniyot on Pesach," said party spokesperson Michelle Levine. "We are considering announcing a ban on everything containing hemp just to be on the safe side. We are going with the rabbis on this. People should remove all cannabis and hemp from their homes."

The Orthodox Anarchist blog disagreed, calling the rulings relating to separation of grains outdated and urging Ale Yarok to instead focus on highlighting halakhic (Jewish religious statutory interpretation) moral arguments such as those supporting medical marijuana or the Orthodox Union's support for religious ayahuasca use rights.

There is an upside to the rabbinical ban during Passover, said Levine. "Logic dictates that if the rabbis say cannabis is non-kosher for Passover, it is apparently kosher during the rest of the year."

Permission to Reprint: This content is licensed under a modified Creative Commons Attribution license. Content of a purely educational nature in Drug War Chronicle appear courtesy of DRCNet Foundation, unless otherwise noted.

Comments

Anonymous (not verified)

Every seed-bearing plant…shall be yours for food. (Genesis 1:29)

"See, I give you every seed-bearing plant that is upon all the earth, and every tree that has seed-bearing fruit; they shall be yours for food. (Genesis 1:29)

Has the USA started a war on seed-bearing plants or do they agree with Genesis 1:29…?

Torah Sparks: Vayikrah from Manhigut Yehudit
And if a person sins... though he knows it not, he is guilty. (Leviticus 5:17)
“One who knows for certain that he transgressed, brings a sin offering; one who doubts if he transgressed, must atone with a guilt offering. Why does the one who has perhaps not transgressed require the more valuable offering? Because his regret is not as complete.”
(Raavad)

Fri, 03/30/2007 - 9:05pm Permalink
Anonymous (not verified)

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

Yes, of course. The government does not believe in Genesis one bit. They use the bible and their version of God as an excuse to pilfer & destroy. The have not actually taken Genesis to heart; neither has Israel or even did Adam & Eve
believe in God.

Pretty sad that you could live with God in the garden and reject the truth there. We people have a long way to grow...........

Sat, 03/31/2007 - 12:01pm Permalink
Anonymous (not verified)

i love marijuana i smoke a blunt every morning for all the people that feel the same that i do!

Tue, 04/10/2007 - 1:02pm Permalink

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