Rabbis May Make Pot Kosher in New York

Rabbis at the Orthodox Union are in early talks with marijuana companies looking to receive kosher certification. However, the potential stamp of approval would only apply to medical marijuana, and it’s still only in the phase of “preliminary discussions,” Rabbi Moshe Elefant, the head of the Orthodox Union’s kosher certification agency, told The Jewish Daily Forward. Other Jewish groups have taken a more active stance toward marijuana legalization. “It’s undeniable that the current system isn’t working,” said Claire Kaufmann, one of the founders of Oregon-based Le’Or, a Jewish drug-law-reform group. “It isn’t protecting kids, it isn’t decreasing consumption levels and it’s perpetuating a black market which is dangerous and where the people running that market are incentivized to deal harder, more addictive drugs.”