Lebanon, which has been struggling under large national debts, is considering legalizing medical cannabis in the near term to help generate more national revenue, Bloomberg reports. Lebanon’s government was advised to consider a legal cannabis market, among other revenue-generating options, by consulting firm McKinsey & Co.
Lebanon’s trade minister Raed Khoury said enacting the changes advised by McKinsey & Co. would be necessary to get the international community to release $11 billion in grants and soft loans promised to Lebanon earlier this year. Khoury also said a medical cannabis market would be expected to add almost $1 billion in revenue per year.
Cannabis is widely cultivated, though illegally, in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley. The current government runs eradication campaigns on a regular basis through that valley, though they do not do much to stifle production. The Bekaa Valley is controlled by Hezbollah, an organization which also holds a large number of seats in the Lebanese legislature as well.
Lebanon’s government is not yet a fully functioning democracy and political impasses have been a theme in the country’s recent past, as it attempts to develop a more lucrative economy. Khoury said, however, that Lebanon needs change to prevent major economic turmoil.