Lebanon Preparing To Legalize Medicinal Hash

In a meeting with US Ambassador to Lebanon Elizabeth Richard, Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament Nabih Berry shared that the parliament is preparing to “study and approve” legalizing the cultivation of medicinal cannabis; he made no mention of legalizing use of the plant.

This comes only weeks after the report by global consultancy firm McKinsey & Co. in which they set out a five-year plan to boost Lebanon’s economy, with recommendations including the set up of an investment-banking hub, as well as the exportation of medicinal cannabis.

Being the world’s third most indebted nation, there is no doubt that this legalization could revamp Lebanon’s struggling economy and provide an influx of opportunity for growers. This would also aid in nipping the illegal trade and exportation of cannabis, one that is unregulated and often violent.

The Lebanese Minister of Economy Raed Khoury has previously estimated that this could create a one-billion-dollar industry in Lebanon, a country very well known around the world for the quality of its cannabis.

Just last month, LAU held an event introducing an initiative to establish the Medicinal Cannabis Research centre to study the plant’s economic, scientific, and medicinal properties.

The medicinal use of cannabis has been proven as an effective remedy for a variety of illnesses and disorders, namely pain management, epilepsy, and various psychological conditions.