JERUSALEM (JWN)—Israel is the world leader in medical marijuana use, anesthesiologist and pain relief expert Dr. Bareket Schiff- Keren told the Knesset Committee on Drug Abuse on Tuesday.

Committee chairman MK Taleb a-Sanaa (UAL-Ta’al) said that, while Israel could serve as a model for other countries on how to use marijuana medicinally, the Health Ministry should ensure that the fields where it is grown under license are properly protected.

Israel Police representative Eyal Zilberman told the committee that large quantities of medical-grade marijuana are being sold on the black market, because the growing fields are not properly secured to prevent theft. He said that approximately 15 tons of medicinal cannabis are stolen each year.

A-Sanaa said that, in the coming months, the Committee on Drug Abuse will investigate the subject further and visit a cannabis field.