“Green Gold” is the name given to the cannabis plant in Lebanon, in view of the importance of this agriculture and the returns it may generate if its cultivation is regulated by laws and monitored by the state for medical and scientific use.
This agriculture, which is present in Lebanon for more than a hundred years, specifically in the Bekaa Valley (Baalbek-Hermel), has long been prohibited by the security forces and is punishable by the applicable laws. Cannabis, however, recently began to take its path towards legislation, according to Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who stressed that its use would be limited to medical purposes and exports.
Despite the support of many political parties for this step, which was advocated for years by many officials, including the head of the Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) former MP Walid Jumblatt, many are against the legalization of Cannabis cultivation, stressing that such decision would have dire consequences if it was not accompanied by strict legal controls in the absence of confidence in the Lebanese state.
Berri told the US ambassador to Lebanon that the Lebanese parliament was preparing to decriminalize the cultivation of cannabis and announced on Thursday that he had appointed a committee of specialists to prepare a proposal for the law on the cultivation of cannabis.
This decision comes after the McKinsey plan on the development of the Lebanese economy recommended the legalization of this plant, which is considered one of the best species in the world, with expectations to generate one billion dollars to the treasury, a move that would open new economic horizons for Lebanon.
Paradoxically, despite the illegal nature of this agriculture, which is spread over vast areas of the Bekaa, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) classified Lebanon in its report in 2018 as the third major source of cannabis seized by national authorities after Morocco and Afghanistan.
Minister of Agriculture in the caretaker government Ghazi Zeaiter told Asharq Al-Awsat that any law in this context should be accompanied by severe penalties for dealing and trafficking, stressing that the cannabis would be only for medical purposes, similar to European countries.
He also pointed out that the plant was at the bottom of the list of dangerous drugs in the world.
Free Patriotic Movement MP Mario Aoun said that the security forces would have a difficulty in exerting their control, especially with the presence of hundreds of dealers who monopolize this trade and receive large sums of money.
While Aoun stressed the medical benefits of cannabis, he noted that it was difficult to separate export, use and local trade so that its use might become legitimate and public. A deputy from the Bekaa, speaking on condition of anonymity, warned that the society could become “drugged and addicted”.
The estimated area of cultivated land in the Bekaa, according to Researcher at Information International Mohamed Shamseddine, is around three or four thousand hectares, which may rise or fall according to strict security.
Shamseddine said that the yield of every thousand square meters of cultivation of cannabis is around $20,000, compared to a few dollars for any other type of cultivation.
