Last month Lebanese President Michel Aoun signed an order paving the way for a change in the country's legislation. If the bill passes through parliament then the production of cannabis could be allowed. But for the moment, the whole plan is confused and far from concluded. To start with, the type of plant the government is proposing to be legalised is not the same variety the farmers currently sow. Perhaps more problematic though, is that it's being suggested that the law will not allow anyone who currently grows cannabis illegally to be involved in future legal production. So instead of benefiting from a change in the law, the farmers who rely on the plant for their livelihood would be out of a job. (See also: In Lebanon's Beqaa Valley, locals divided over legalisation of medical marijuana)

A village in Lebanon, where cannabis grows everywhere, has long counted on hashish for income. But the country’s economic crisis has farmers reconsidering the crop. The Lebanese pound has lost 80 percent of its value against the United States dollar since last fall, and farmers have taken the hit. The costs of imported fuel and fertilizer needed to grow the crop have soared, while the Lebanese pounds that growers earn by selling their hash are worth less and less. Lebanon’s financial crisis has also undermined the drug’s domestic market, and the war in Syria has snarled smuggling routes, making it harder for middlemen to reach foreign markets.

Consulting firm McKinsey & Co. presented a document detailing proposals to jump start Lebanon's economy to President Michel Aoun, Bloomberg reported. The report highlighted some "quick wins" Lebanon can implement to get back on track - including legalizing cannabis production for export. Caretaker Economy and Trade Minister Raed Khoury added Lebanon could legalize cultivation and export the drug for medicinal treatments: “The quality we have is one of the best in the world,” he said, adding cannabis could become a one-billion-dollar industry. Bloomberg notes that "cannabis is cultivated clandestinely in the eastern Bekaa Valley, which is dominated by Hezbollah." (See also: Lebanon will legalize growing marijuana after McKinsey evaluated it as a boost for the country's troubled economy)

Learn how lessening the barriers for small farmers while raising them for large companies can help to steer legal cannabis markets in a more sustainable and equitable direction based on principles of community empowerment, social justice, fair(er) trade and sustainable development.

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A plan to legalise cannabis production in Lebanon faces resistance from some of the growers themselves. In the eastern Bekaa Valley, where the crop has been cultivated for centuries, the local farmers are suspicious of government efforts to create a legal cannabis industry. "We view the legalisation of hashish as theft from our people," says one grower, Abu Jafaar. "As this crop generates a lot of revenues, so our politicians want to legalise it to steal that production." Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament Nabih Berri has said the Lebanese government is preparing legislation that will allow the cultivation of cannabis for medical purposes. The move followed a report by consultants McKinsey into the ailing Lebanese economy.

Authorities continued efforts to eradicate cannabis fields in the Bekaa, east Lebanon, as normal activity in the region remained subdued due to reports of prowling gunmen. Two bulldozers were used in the operation in addition to 17 tractors after 15 tractors were sabotaged by gunmen a day earlier. The operation is proceeding with caution, especially following reports of armed men in the vicinity. (See also: Farmers, government battle over hashish in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley | Lebanon: Hashish growers and the Government face off)

According to Jalal Mahfouz, head of the Planning and Development Center in Hermel (Lebanon), any move to legalize the illegal industry, which is believed to be worth millions of dollars, would backfire by reducing prices and demand. He argued that hashish was currently expensive because it was illegal, and that if that changed the plant’s value would plummet. He also cast doubt on the idea that the government would be able to enforce any such law – even if supportive of the industry – given its near total absence from the remote area. (Text version)

The Lebanese government is looking to cannabis cultivation for medicinal and industrial purposes to improve the country's economic situation. Lebanon is the third most indebted country in the world, with a debt-to-GDP ratio of 170%. Parliamentary committees passed a draft law on Feb. 26, legalizing cannabis cultivation for medical and industrial use. The draft law will be transferred to the parliament for approval. The Lebanese Parliament closed due to the coronavirus outbreak, but, the law is expected to pass after it reconvenes. The type of plant that Lebanon seeks to cultivate is specific to medical industries. The Lebanese state does not accept the use of hashish as a resource to support the economy.

The relentless crackdown by security forces on the mainly cannabis-smoking youth in Beirut has had several negative repercussions on the Lebanese society. Young, impressionable teenagers in Beirut are increasingly getting drawn to what is called "synthetic cannabis" or otherwise known as "K2" or "spice." A mixture of herbs is usually laced with cannabinoids such as cannabicyclohexanol. The exact effects of this mixture are still not well understood, but early studies suggest a severe increase in chances of psychosis.

"When I was young I wasn't for it or against it. All I used to think about was going to school, graduating and getting a job. But there is poverty in this part of the country, the state is non-existent." The "it" Shamas refers to is the business of selling cannabis, something he first became involved with six years ago. He is now one of Lebanon's biggest growers and most prolific traders, with 130 hectares of hash fields in the country's Bekaa Valley and more than 50 employees. As he shows off his production factory and his plants - which grow openly in fields by the side of public roads - he happily poses for photos, showing little regard for the illegality of his work.

Victims of overproduction, cannabis farmers in the Beqaa now long for the time when the Lebanese State was fighting against the cultivation of Indian hemp, burning entire fields. When Syrian refugees began arriving in the Beqaa, the authorities stopped destroying the crops to prevent protests from the already impoverished host community. For a few years now, planting and irrigation of the fields has been done openly. The price of cannabis collapsed to $100 per kilo because farmers in the Beqaa have started planting hemp again, taking advantage of the leniency from authorities. Supply has out stripped demand, and last year, the price of cannabis––80 percent of which is destined for export––fell to $150 per kilogram. Last year’s merchandise hasn’t been sold yet and is laying in the farmers’ barns.

Lebanon last week legalised the cultivation and export of cannabis for medicinal and industrial purposes. The move is intended to provide an economic stimulus for the country's ailing economy, at least that's the stated aim. Legalisation of the industry in a country which is the world's third largest producer of cannabis, according to the UN Office on Drugs Crime (UNODC), was advocated as a financial rescue plan as early as 2018 in a report by McKinsey & Co, commissioned by the Lebanese government to set out a five-year plan to rescue the economy. Successive Lebanese governments have moved towards legalisation of cannabis, reasoning that the financial benefits outweigh moral objections. Will, though, the industry become an economic lifeline, or simply another opportunity for corruption?

The contrast between the vibrant green of a cannabis field and the arid land nearby in Lebanon's Bekaa valley has for years raised a dilemma for the area's impoverished farmers. Cannabis is hardier, less thirsty and cheaper to grow than the region's other main crops like apples and potatoes, but it is also illegal - for now. Parliament will consider legalising its growth for medicinal use, but in the Bekaa, some people are unconvinced there will be a meaningful change. "It is like giving a dog a bone because people are hungry and can't bear it any more," said a cannabis farmer. "But whether they legalize it or not, the most important thing is to give an amnesty," he said. Farmers face prison terms of five years. (See also: How good is Lebanese cannabis? Scientists seek herbal remedies)

Lebanon is set to become the first Arab country to legalise the growing and export of medical cannabis in hopes of rescuing the economy - at least that's the stated objective. To be fair, the industry does have the potential to generate $1 billion, according to a report by the American consultancy firm McKinsey and Company. That report - commissioned by the Lebanese government in 2018 - had some MPs salivating at the prospect of fattening their pockets. Lebanon's elites are looking to exploit the cannabis cultivation industry, cutting existing small-scale farmers out of the deal. The government hasn't consulted with Bekaa farmers about its new plan, leaving communities to believe that they are being blatantly ignored. (See also: Lebanon legalises cannabis cultivation)

The Lebanese parliament passed legislation to legalize cannabis cultivation for medical and industrial purposes, a move that was recommended by economic advisers even before the coronavirus pandemic dealt a devastating blow to the struggling economy. Under the new law, the cultivation of cannabis by farmers would be regulated within the country. Although the plant has long been widely and openly cultivated in Lebanon, particularly in the eastern Bekaa Valley, growing cannabis was strictly illegal. The new law would not legalize for recreational use. Instead, it would allow for the plant to be grown for export for medicinal and industrial purposes. (See also: Eyeing a $1 billion market, Lebanon's elites are looking to exploit cannabis cultivation, cutting small-scale farmers out of the deal)

Lebanon's parliament is set to vote on a law that would legalise the cultivation of cannabis for medical and industrial use in an effort to boost its crippled economy and curb illicit production of the psychoactive plant. The draft law, which has been endorsed by parliamentary committees and is now headed for a final vote, would only affect cannabis that contains less than one percent of the psychoactive compound tetrahydrocannabidinol, or THC. Lebanon has cultivated the plant for at least 100 years and produces large amounts of hashish. Though illegal to produce, sell or use, it is widely available locally and is also illegally exported. Instead of dealing with that market, this bill would seek to create a new one involving types of cannabis plants that have not traditionally been cultivated in Lebanon.

The Bekaa Valley in Lebanon is notorious as one of the world's major cannabis-growing regions, producing some of the finest hashish. The country is the third biggest world producer after Morocco and Afghanistan, according to the UN. But the valley's residents have rarely felt the benefits. Now they are hoping their work will become legal after decades of crackdowns and raids. A draft bill has been introduced that would allow cultivation and use of cannabis for medical purposes. The idea has fueled dreams of Lebanon raking in hundreds of millions of dollars in sales and exports, a desperately needed source of income for a country with low growth, high unemployment and one of the world's heaviest debt burdens. (See also: Cannabis in Lebanon: Production may be legal by the end of the year)

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 spiralling 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, fertilisers 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.

Lebanon is scrabbling to escape an existential, multilayered crisis that has gutted the currrency to less than a quarter of its previous value, brought the specter of shortages to a place renowned for its excess and spurred a full-scale rejection of the country’s ruling order. Lebanon is broke. It produces very little, relying on imports for almost everything, and dollars are scarce. In its desperate drive for foreign currency, it’s trying to develop homegrown industries, including taking advantage of what is its most famous export: Lebanese hash. The country is responsible for 6% of the global cannabis supply, making it the world’s third-largest exporter of the stuff, according to a report last year by the U.N.’s Office on Drugs and Crime — this, despite the fact that cannabis had until recently been illegal.

Lebanon is about to take a historic step for the Arab World with a proposed bill to legalize the cultivation of cannabis for medical use. But in the fertile Bekaa valley in Eastern Lebanon, where communities have been growing cannabis for generations, this news has not gone down well. VICE’s Rony Karkar finds out why Lebanon is so keen to legalize cannabis, and travels to the village of Yammouneh, where one of the main cannabis farming communities live, to find out why they think they’ll lose out if their livelihood becomes legal.