Lebanon has become the latest country to make a bold move towards marijuana acceptance.
The Lebanese parliament passed legislation this week to legalize cannabis cultivation for medical and industrial purposes after recommendations from economic advisers.
According to The Daily Star, under the new law, the cultivation of marijuana by farmers would be regulated within the country but it would not legalize the drug for recreational use. Despite being widely and openly cultivated in the country, growing the plant has been strictly illegal.
“No change to any laws on the recreational production or use of the substance, which remains illegal,” Timour Azhari, Al Jazeera’s Beirut correspondent said in a tweet.
The law allows for the plant to be grown for export for medicinal and industrial purposes, producing cannabis pharmaceutical items, including wellness products and CBD oil. Industrial products, such as fibers for textiles, could also be produced.
Kareem Chehayeb, an independent Lebanese journalist and researcher tweeted, “Though their key allies supported the draft law, #Hezbollah were not the only party to oppose this.”
Hilal Khashan, a professor of political studies and public administration at the American University of Beirut, told Newsweek, “Hezbollah is a primary beneficiary of cannabis trafficking. The only way for Hezbollah to accept the ratification of the law is to be directly involved in its implementation—i.e., get its share from it.”
New York-based global consulting company McKinsey & Co. had recently advised the country on how to address growing economic concerns and suggested that Lebanon legalize marijuana for at least some purposes.
