Lebanon agriculture minister urges cannabis cultivation for export
“The planting of cannabis must be organized to benefit the state and the industrial sector, and it is one way of helping the farmers.”
Friday, December 19, 2014
Agriculture Minister Akram Chehayeb called for the legalization of cannabis farming in Lebanon to benefit from the revenue of its export. “We are conducting studies on [how to] organize this type of agriculture so that it becomes monitored by the state, and thus the state can buy the harvest and export it to the countries that need it,” Chehayeb said. He added that the state should end its war on cannabis farmers and find workable alternatives. For many poor villages in east Lebanon, the cultivation and sale of marijuana has for decades been the primary source of revenue. Upon pressure by international donors and foreign states, Lebanon launched a crackdown on the farmers after the end of the Civil War. (See also: Cannabis farmers support calls to legalize lucrative crop)
