Lebanon has officially legalised cannabis cultivation for medical and pharmaceutical purposes, with authorities establishing a dedicated regulatory body to manage domestic and international sales in a move expected to generate approximately $1 billion (£800 million) annually for the state treasury.
The Cannabis Cultivation Management Committee has begun operations under legislation which was passed by the Lebanese parliament in 2020. The move marks a significant shift from decades of crackdowns against illegal cannabis farmers in the country’s agricultural regions.
Cannabis crops cover around 450 hectares in the foothills of Hermel, in western Lebanon. Thousands of farmers in this region, many previously considered fugitives by the government for drug trafficking, have continued cultivating the plant clandestinely, citing economic necessity.
“The government provides no alternative crops and has failed to implement any development plans in the area, leaving cannabis cultivation and its sale to drug dealers as the only means of feeding their families,” farmers told reporters from Al Jazeera.
Committee head Dani Fadel recently toured farming regions to reassure growers that the new regulatory framework will provide legitimate sales channels. He pledged that the body would “ensure mechanisms for selling their harvests to pharmaceutical manufacturers domestically and abroad at global market prices, instead of relying on drug traffickers.”
It is hoped the move will have significant financial implications for Lebanon, which has been grappling with a severe financial crisis. International consulting firm McKinsey estimates the legal cannabis industry could contribute $1 billion annually to the economy, suggesting revenues could help to revive stalled development projects.
Cannabis cultivation in Lebanon has declined in recent years due to a crackdown on growers and raids on facilities. However, farmers have persisted with the crop, arguing it requires lower investment costs compared to traditional alternatives such as apple cultivation. A 2019 report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) estimated that Lebanon was the third largest producer of cannabis resin products such as hashish, behind Morocco and Afghanistan. Morocco also legalised the cultivation and processing of cannabis for medicinal and industrial use in 2021.
