Is marijuana kosher for Passover? Well one rabbi says yes. And so would most rabbis, at least in the countries where pot is now legal.
Why even ask the question, you might ask. Well many people are surprised to learn that whiskey and beer are not kosher for Passover. This is because they are made from one of the five grains which are not allowed on Passover, according to Jewish law, The grains, such as wheat, can only be consumed if they are already in the form of Matzo, unleavened bread. This also applies to any drinks; even though, they are in liquid form.
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And these prohibitions also apply to obtaining any benefit from Hametz, non-kosher for Passover foods. So you may not even have these things in your possession on the holiday. And this would also apply to smoking them. So if, for example, tobacco were Hametz, then you would not be allowed to smoke cigarettes on Passover either.
But it is obvious that marijuana is not made from grain, you probably are saying to yourself right now. So why even ask the question? Well in Judaism, specifically Jewish Law, nothing is ever simple. European Jews observe a custom of not eating any legumes on Passover either.
So Rabbi Ben Greenberg explained to the Daily Beast that there is nothing to be concerned about when it comes to marijuana. “There are really two different layers of prohibitions during Passover,” explained Rabbi Greenberg. “One of them is specific to the Ashkenazic Jewish community, and the other one is the biblical prohibition, which is that you can’t have any leaven—no grains. The additional layer of prohibition is that European Jews, several hundred years ago, added that you can’t have anything that might look like a grain. So they don’t eat beans or rice on Passover.”
Well Rabbi Greenberg explains that neither prohibition applies to marijuana. But you still need to be careful with edibles. There is no way to know what is included in all of the ingredients in edible marijuana products. They could have some form of grain in them. As of now none have formal kashrut certification and certainly not kosher for Passover certification.
So on Passover just stick to smoking it and only where it is legal.
