Lebanon’s cannabis heartland, Bekaa, hoping for legalization
YAMMOUNE, LEBANON» In the fields of this quiet village surrounded by mountains, men and women work clearing dirt and dry leaves from around cannabis plants, a major source of livelihoods in this impoverished corner of Lebanon,
The fertile Bekaa Valley in eastern Lebanon has long been notorious as one of the world’s major narcotics-growing regions, producing some of the finest quality cannabis, mostly processed into hashish. Today, the country is the third-biggest producer in the world after Morocco and Afghanistan, according to the United Nations.
But the valley’s residents have rarely felt the benefits. Now they are hoping their work will soon become legal after decades of crackdowns and raids.
This week, a draft bill was introduced in parliament that would allow cultivation and use of cannabis for medical purposes.
The idea has fueled dreams of Lebanon raking in hundreds of millions of dollars in sales and exports, a desperately needed source of income for a country weighed down by low growth, high unemployment and one of the heaviest debt burdens in the world.
The legal industry will also create jobs and bring order in the Bekaa, a region notorious for lawlessness, proponents say.
“I want to find a solution for what’s going on,” said legislator Antoine Habchi, who sent the bill to parliament. The aim is to “allow farmers to live with dignity.”
Habchi, who hails from the cannabis-growing part of the Bekaa region, said the bill would bring economic returns and would include provisions to prevent and treat addiction.
Under the bill, cultivation would be tightly controlled. Private pharmaceutical companies would provide seeds and seedlings to farmers and during harvest plants would be counted to make sure nothing had been diverted. The size of fields would be regulated.
It likely will take months for the bill to go through discussions before it can come to a vote. Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri last week informed U.S. Ambassador Elizabeth Richard that the legislature was working on the draft bill. In the past, the U.S. has provided aid for counter-narcotics efforts in Lebanon, trying to stem the trade.
The move is not without controversy.
The northern parts of the Bekaa Valley where cannabis is widely grown is under the influence of the militant group Hezbollah, which opposes the use and production of all types of drugs. The group and its allies dominate parliament; it has not said whether it would try to stop the bill.
The U.S. has repeatedly accused Hezbollah of drug trafficking, charges that the group strongly denies.
Legalization seems to have gained traction in Lebanon after global consulting firm McKinsey & Co. included it among its suggestions in a government-commissioned study on ways to boost Lebanon’s economy.
Still, economists are split on the benefits.
Louis Hobeika, an economist at Lebanon’s Notre Dame University, warned that cannabis profits won’t go to state coffers or citizens but will be devoured by the widespread corruption among the ruling elite.
“This is a move that aims to finance the political mafia in Lebanon,” he said.
Habchi disagrees, saying farmers and workers would finally have their rights in the trade. Traditionally, drug dealers benefit most, imposing a purchase price on farmers then selling the product for much higher prices.