Lebanon News

Dec. 14, 2014 | 10:32 AM (Last updated: December 14, 2014 | 01:13 PM)

Jumblatt renews calls to legalize marijuana

File - Walid Jumblatt attends a ceremony in Beirut, Tuesday, March 4, 2014. (The Daily Star/Mahmoud Kheir)

The Daily Star

BEIRUT: MP Walid Jumblatt has renewed calls to legalize the cultivation and sale of marijuana.

In a tweet late-Saturday, the head of the Progressive Socialist Party wrote that the time has come to sanction pot and end the state's prosecution of its sellers.

"It is time to allow for the cultivation of marijuana, and to drop the right to issue arrest warrants against people who work in this field," the prominent Druze leader said.

Jumblatt caused a stir in May when he announced unequivocally that he was for legalizing marijuana.

At the time, he told Al-Jadeed television that he supported the cultivation of the drug to help struggling farmers.

“Never in my life have I smoked marijuana, but I support growing cannabis for medical use and to improve the living conditions of farmers in north Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley,” Jumblatt had said.

“Let’s legalize cannabis and regulate its cultivation,” the politician said.

Once a thriving multi-billion-dollar business, cannabis cultivation was targeted by the Lebanese government in the early 1990s due to international pressure.

Crop substitution programs devised by the Agriculture Ministry in coordination with the United Nations and other international organizations have failed to yield positive results and Lebanese farmers continue to grow the lucrative crop despite yearly crackdowns by the state.

Entities

Comments

Your feedback is important to us!

We invite all our readers to share with us their views and comments about this article.

Disclaimer: Comments submitted by third parties on this site are the sole responsibility of the individual(s) whose content is submitted. The Daily Star accepts no responsibility for the content of comment(s), including, without limitation, any error, omission or inaccuracy therein. Please note that your email address will NOT appear on the site.

Alert: If you are facing problems with posting comments, please note that you must verify your email with Disqus prior to posting a comment. follow this link to make sure your account meets the requirements. (http://bit.ly/vDisqus)