Analysis by Karim Bassil, Staff Writer

April 16th, 2020

Marijuana, Kush, Hashish, Devil’s Grass and over a hundred of them to simply describe one plant; cannabis. It might be the world’s most interesting plant. Cannabis is one of the world’s best natural fibers and has been used to make cloth for over 6,000 year. Its seeds can be eaten, pressed into a cooking oil, make paper and even hair conditioner. Today it is found on nearly every continent on Earth. If you look down human history, you’ll eventually run into cannabis. And yes, it can also get you high, but this is not the point of this discussion. The plant which was widely viewed as a gateway drug is now being legalized in several countries and is both a health and economic benefit. 

The plant is native to the Beqaa Valley, situated to the east of the country. The valley has the perfect weather for farming and cultivating a diverse number of crops, and it happens that cannabis is one of them. There is a long drug tradition in the Beqaa Valley, from the days of the Roman Empire to today. Cultivators and tribal drug lords have set up a very successful drug trade, with the help of militias. Cannabis cultivation was a major source of income in the valley during the civil war in Lebanon. Most of the country's hashish and opium was coming out of the valley. It was a multibillion-dollar industry operating the agricultural sector, as well as political groups and organized crime. 

In the early 1990s, when the United States was leading a worldwide crackdown on narcotics, the trade collapsed. Although important during the civil war, cannabis cultivation has become minimal, dropping from an estimated 30 metric tons per year in 1983 to insignificant amounts in 2004. Due to increasing political turbulence that weakened the central Lebanese government during 2006 Lebanon War and due to the lack of sustainable alternatives, drug cultivation and production has increased significantly, but remain a fraction of what was produced during the civil war and are limited to north of the town of Baalbek, where the rule of tribal law protecting armed families is still strong. 

After years of unsuccessful attempts to develop alternate crops, Lebanon’s government has finally caved in and decided to go ahead and legalize the plant for both medicinal and industrial purposes. In July and September of 2019, two bills were introduced to parliament proposing the legalization of marijuana cultivation. However, both bills were proposed by rival sides; one by Lebanese Forces MP for Baalbeck-Hermel; Antoine Habchi, and another by non-other than Speaker of Parliament and Amal Movement leader; Nabih Berry. 

The bills both aimed to legalize the growing of marijuana for industrial, medicinal and research purposes, but with different approaches. Habchi’s bill looked to put pharmaceutical companies in direct contact with producers in Lebanon, while Berry’s bill called for a state control entity, one similar to “La Regie libanaise des tabacs & tombacs”, to manage and control the production. However, the parliament looked to adopt a hybrid bill which looked to include the best points in each bill.

Consulting firm McKinsey & Company put forward a report on how to revitalize the Lebanese economy, which included 150 initiatives, and the legalization of cannabis for industrial purposes was one of them. That was when actual steps - regarding legalization - began to really take place. During an interview with Bloomberg, departing Minister of Economy Raed Khoury, stated that medicinal marijuana exports could potentially generate $1 billion in revenue every year for Lebanon.

The country has one of the world’s highest debts and it sits around 150 percent of the GDP. The money is frantically needed to finance this crisis. With talks of legalization around the corner, recreational marijuana, which is outlawed in Lebanon, has been on the decline. According to Lebanese University professor Hassane Makhlouf, who researches drug trafficking in Lebanon; around $2 to $3 billion per year were generated by recreational marijuana, but most of the profits were going into the pockets of traffickers and there was no real benefit to the country.

In March of 2020, Lebanon's parliament was set out to vote on a law that would legalize the cultivation of cannabis for medical and industrial use in an effort to boost its crippled economy and curb illicit production of the psychoactive plant. The draft law, which had been endorsed by parliamentary committees and is now headed for a final vote, would only affect cannabis that contains less than one percent of the psychoactive compound tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC. THC gives cannabis the recreational effects that have made it the most widely used illicit substance across the globe. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that around 147 million people, or 2.5 percent of the world population, consume cannabis. 

Another goal which the draft law was aiming at, is that it aimed to reduce pressure in the Lebanese court and prison system. It specifically regarded organized crime involving the local cannabis trade. However, instead of reducing the sentences or decriminalizing its consumption, it looks at “strengthening criminal penalties on violations against the articles of this law”. Each year, around 3,000 and 4,000 people are arrested for drug related crimes in Lebanon, and the large numbers come from the consumption of cannabis; according to statistics from the Central Drug Enforcement Office. The bill also stated that it would also specifically prohibit anyone with a criminal record from acquiring a license to cultivate or work with the cannabis crop in any manner. That means it would exclude the tens of thousands of people in the Beqaa Valley who have been arrested for cultivating the crop. Many of the farmers who know the plant and the land it grows in better than anyone else would not be allowed to take part in this new opportunity which should be looking at benefiting them as well, and that is a missed opportunity. 

The bill should take into consideration the farmers of the Beqaa and use their expertise for their benefit. Large pharmaceutical companies should come in and study the local cannabis plant and understand how the country could largely benefit from it. Lebanon has been a long-time producer of hashish, which is made from the resin of cannabis, but now it should look at the plant as a whole. That is what the new market is in demand for.

Export the plant to countries where marijuana is decriminalized and legal, for both medical and recreational purposes. Make sure that there is an amnesty law that regards all people and cannabis, ranging from consumption and trading. These people are the ones that know this plant for what it is and are the ones who deserve compensation for it. The government is on the right path; however, it should look at it in a new light. Yes, cannabis is an alternative initiative to go green in terms of the economy, but it also contains a medical and social aspect. What the government is forgetting in all of this is the Ministry of Tourism. If down the line cannabis were to be decriminalized for recreational purposes, then there would be a huge influx of tourism generated each year. 

Tax the plant like you would with tobacco and alcohol, make profit out of the industrial, medical and recreational aspects. With over a $1 billion per year generated, then this would be the way out of the ditch of debt. Cannabis might hold a negative connotation with older generations, but the new generation of the country has a more amical feel towards the plant. This is a new world order, and this was the change that many of the youth were fighting for in October. Legalizing cannabis in all its forms is arguably a right step forward towards a greener Lebanon in every way possible.