Lebanon becomes first Arab country to legalize cannabis farming
Despite pushback from Hezbollah, the Lebanese parliament passed legislation Tuesday legalizing cannabis cultivation for medicinal and industrial purposes.
Lebanon became the first Arab country to legalize cannabis farming in the hopes that sales from the plant will provide some relief to its debt-ridden economy.
Despite pushback from the Shiite Islamist group Hezbollah, the Lebanese parliament passed legislation legalizing marijuana cultivation for medicinal and industrial purposes. Recreational use of marijuana will remain illegal.
Consultants hired by Lebanon from the New York-based global consulting company McKinsey had estimated the cultivation of cannabis in Lebanon could generate up to $1 billion per year in government revenue.
After Morocco and Afghanistan, Lebanon is the third-largest source of cannabis resin worldwide, according to the United Nations. Although growing the crop was illegal, farmers in the fertile Bekaa Valley have been cultivating the plant for centuries.
