Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat on Thursday announced his support for legalizing the cultivation of cannabis in Lebanon, especially in the Bekaa region.

“There should not be any concerns over legalizing and organizing the cultivation of cannabis for medical purposes, as it would not pose a health risk unless it is turned into an addiction," Jumblat said during an interview on al-Jadeed TV.

"Along with Akkar, the Bekaa is one of the most impoverished regions," said Jumbat, reminscing that the revenues of cannabis in the Bekaa "used to activate the economic cycle" in Lebanon.

The PSP leader condemned the fact that authorities had offered Bekaa's peasants unviable alternative crops, such as saffron.

“It is an easy to cultivate crop, but it needs experience. They cultivate it in Iran and it requires skilled workers,” Jumblat added.

But he stressed that laws must regulate the cultivation, distribution and sale of cannabis and hashish.

Denying that he was seeking to create a shock value through his announcement, Jumblat added: “The health-damaging Captagon narcotic pills are being manufactured (in Lebanon), so wouldn't it be better to return to hashish, which does not affect health, instead of resorting to destructive chemical substances?”

Jumblat's remarks come on the heels of a recent statement by former tourism minister Fadi Abboud, who has recently called for “legalizing the cultivation, export and medical use of cannabis” in order to fund the stalled new wage scale.

A lot of residents in the Bekaa defend the industry as their only source of employment. During Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war, Lebanese hashish, which is known for its quality, fed a flourishing industry that generated hundreds of millions of dollars a year in income.

Hashish is a cannabis product derived from the resin of the plant, and produced in large quantities in the Bekaa.

Under pressure from the United States, Lebanon has launched several eradication campaigns, and in past years, the army bulldozed thousands of hectares of cannabis. Farmers had often taken up arms to defend their crop.

Y.R.