Legalization of Cannabis in Lebanon : Dear hashish as Apples

It sounds a little Proud of that fact. "We have tried Apples grow, and tomatoes, potatoes. But nothing grows better in this Region than Cannabis,“ said farmer Abu Ali Schreif in the Lebanese Yamoune. "You only need seeds and water, then you'll get the best hashish," he says, next to him, the knee high accumulated illegal harvest. "Lebanese Cannabis is like Gold. It is the best in the world,“ says the 52-Year-old about his harvest.

The Plant, which made him so happy, is preparing some in Germany. The Addiction and drug report States that Cannabis is in the Federal Republic of Germany on the rise again. It is mainly the use as a medicament, the raises here in Lebanon, and hopes.

For generations, the residents of the Bekaa valley to build despite frequent raids by the authorities of Cannabis, such as Abu Ali Schreif reported. In particular, during the civil war in Lebanon from 1975 to 1990 prospered, the cultivation in the Bekaa. Red Lebanese, this was in the 80s in West Germany, a common Synonym for hashish. In the early ' 90s, the government and the United Nations development programme, Cannabis began to be replaced by other plants. However, the idea didn't solve the problem, farmers returned to the drug.

the cultivation of The narcotic plant is in Lebanon illegally. But the Parliament is considering to legalize the production for medical purposes. Representatives from the Bekaa are behind the idea. The declared goal is not only to bring the Region to Bloom, but also to help the economically weak Lebanon as a Whole.

On the fields of Yamoune young Syrians working inside. They fled with their families from their war-torn country into Lebanon. A better Job than the on the plan days have not found. The girls work quietly and be observed by Mostafa. Mostafa, also Syrians, manages the Cannabis cultivation for farmer Abu Ali Schreif.

"time is money, and in this Job we can lose no time. We need to be quick and harvest various crops in order to sell them at a good price,“ says the 30-year-old father of four children. According to him, the Syrian girl gets between two and three dollars per hour.

insiders say the illegal trade is booming, especially in the Hezbollah-controlled areas, a Shiite organization allied with Iran, a heavily armed militia has and the fortunes of the country with guides. Also, in regions near the border with Syria, the business floriere.

Cannabis legalization as an economic drive

The cultivation of Cannabis can bring a lot of money. According to Reports of the local population, the majority of the revenue ends up in the pockets of the big dealers who buy Cannabis and to Europe and other parts of the world to smuggle. "We farmers do not earn much. People like me, the days of the great plan, make good money. But the exporters are the really rich people,“ says Schreif.

His business could be more profitable for him, if the Parliament allows the production actually for medical purposes. Economists say that the legalization could bring in sales, the hard war takes in neighbouring Syria struck the economy of Lebanon as a matter of urgency. Farmers could decent life, Jobs could be created. "I came up with the idea to legalize Cannabis, when I noticed that all the legal fruits can not replace the Cannabis in our Region," says Antoine Habshi, a member of Parliament, from Deir al Ahmar, a mostly Christian-dominated small town in Yamoune.

"I thought: here We have in our hands a negative Plant, which can be transformed into a positive, when used for medical purposes," says Habshi. "If we legalize Cannabis, we are helping the farmers to live in Dignity, dams, the illegal dissemination and to bring money at the same time in the Treasury." Habshi hopes that Europe, South America, Australia, and Canada to import medical Cannabis from Lebanon. A date for the parliamentary debate in the country is still to be determined.

the draft law for the Bundestag, the greens want to facilitate regulation of Cannabis as a medicine

The Cannabis farmer Schreif sees the proposal with mixed feelings. "On the one hand, this means that we can grow the Plant open. On the other hand, I fear that the government will benefit Only from the sale,“ he says. "Frankly, I have our politicians don't trust. What if you decide to buy our crops at very low prices, like they do with tobacco, and sell it to the companies at high prices? Then all the money would flow into their pockets, not in the farmers or in the public budgets.“