Poverty-stricken Lebanese resorts to hashish growing

For three decades Abu Ali planted potatoes to provide for his family but Lebanon’s economic crisis has driven up production costs and forced him to swap the crop for cannabis.

“It’s not for the love of hashish,” the 57-year-old told AFP in the eastern Baalbek region, the heart of Lebanon’s illicit cannabis industry.

“It’s just less expensive than other crops... and allows you to live with dignity.” Lebanon is in the throes of a spiraling economic crisis compounded by the coronavirus pandemic.

As the value of the local currency plunges on the black market, the cost of imported fuel, seeds, fertilizers and pesticides priced in dollars has skyrocketed.

More and more small farmers, who were already in dire straits before the crisis, are deciding to grow cannabis instead. “With agriculture, we were always losers,” said Abu Ali, who asked to use a pseudonym over security concerns.

After decades of neglect by the state, many of Abu Ali’s colleagues are now indebted to banks or loan sharks and have had to sell land or property to settle dues.

To avoid the same fate, Abu Ali in 2019 started cultivating hashish, or cannabis resin, which costs four times less to produce than potatoes or green beans. It also requires less water and fertilizer, while strong market demand means he can rake in a stable income for the first time in years.

“When we planted vegetables, we couldn’t even buy fuel for heating,” Abu Ali said. He has dedicated two hectares of land to hashish cultivation — enough to produce around 100 kilograms every harvest.

One kilogram sells for an average of two million Lebanese pounds ($160 dollars at the black-market rate) but its price could reach up to five million pounds depending on quality. “I’m not living the high life but... I can feed and support my family,” Abu Ali said.

Hashish production was once limited to a few villages in the Baalbek, including Yammouneh but its deputy mayor Hussein Shreif said it is now gaining traction across the whole region.

“Many farmers have given up on growing their usual produce because of losses,” he said. Cannabis, on the other hand, “costs less to produce and rakes in a profit irrespective of how much it’s sold for.”