TEL AVIV, Israel (AFP) — Cannabis rained from on high in Israel’s liberal hub of Tel Aviv this week as legalisation campaigners used a drone to airdrop bags of the drug, sparking delight on the ground.

“Green Drone” had pre-announced a drop of hundreds of bags, each containing two grammes (just under a 10th of an ounce), on central Tel Aviv’s Rabin Square.

“It’s time, dear friends. Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s Green Drone distributing free cannabis from the sky,” it said on its Telegram channel, quoted in Israeli media.

It urged followers to roll up for further dope drops every week at different locations around Israel, although police arrested two alleged drone operators on Saturday.

Israeli smokers often use encrypted messaging apps to order weed deliveries, although the drug is illegal in the Jewish state.

Medical use of cannabis is allowed but Israeli police frequently boast of drug busts.

Researchers said in June that it was highly likely that ancient Israelites got high on cannabis in religious rituals, after researchers found traces of the drug at a religious site in Israel.