Cannabis Chronicles

“The Bible described Lebanon as “the land of milk and honey” because of its rich farmland, and in Roman times, Bekaa Valley was known as ‘the breadbasket of the Empire’.”¹

According to Eye on Lebanon, “Farming remains a way of life . . . agricultural products still generate 12% of the country’s GDP. Bekaa valley is Lebanon’s most important farming region - 40% of households run small family farms here.”

And, despite the problems outlined in the NY Times article featured in our previous journal entry, infrastructure for a modern dairy industry was built up in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley, only to be destroyed in the 2006 conflict that contributed to the resurgence of hashish production in the Bekaa Valley in 2007.

Libanlait returns
Situated in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon’s biggest dairy company was hit by Israeli bombs on 17 July 2006. It will take up to 18 months and about $20m (£10m) to rebuild.

As that photo from a BBC feature - Lebanon Rebuilds - pretty clearly shows, milk processing became collateral damage in 2006 as a part the region’s seemingly endless series of conflicts.

The fertile soil and Mediterranean climate of the Bekaa Valley does support a number of other agricultural enterprises, including the production of olives for oil and a burgeoning wine industry.

Slow olive harvest
It is harvest time for olive farmers in Lebanon. At this olive oil press in the village of Kfar Kila, close to the Israeli border, business is slow in the aftermath of the war. ²

Just as the prohibition of alcohol fueled organized crime in the United States by giving them an obvious source of illicit profits, prohibitions on Cannabis and hashish can provide a potential funding stream for radical groups of all ilks. Ending plant prohibition won’t stop regional or religious conflicts, but it could shut off a significant funding source for the combatants.

If worldwide Cannabis and hashish prohibition were to end, Lebanese Hashish would likely still offer a more lucrative option for Bekaa Valley’s farmers than many other agricultural commodities like olive oil, wheat, or dairy farming. As a “value added” agricultural product, in a world where hashish was tolerated, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to expect it to garner profits similar to that of a vineyards, which already exist in the Bekaa Valley.

1. quote, statistics and illustration from http://www.globaleye.org.uk/secondary_spring06/eyeon/bekaavalley.html [↩]
2. 2006 - from BBC feature - Lebanon Rebuilds [↩]