Global Ganja Report

The US State Department's latest International Narcotics Control Strategy Report warns that hashish production is again on the rise in the traditional producer. "The Lebanese government reported ongoing cannabis cultivation in 2009, and increased drug use particularly among the young, due to greater availability and reduced price of most drugs sold in Lebanon," the report states.

The Interior Ministry has pledged to crack down on the production of illegal drugs and Internal Security Forces (ISF) demolition squads spent several weeks eradicating cannabis crops in the Bekaa Valley. "Illicit crop cultivation remains an attractive option for some farmers due to a lack of economically viable alternative crops," the report states. "The stagnant economic situation in rural Lebanon makes illicit crop cultivation appealing to farmers in the Bekaa Valley." It also warns: "The ISF continues to face the possibility of armed and violent resistance by local farmers when attempting to eradicate crops or when attempting to undertake drug enforcement operations."

The ISF claims to have destroyed the majority of Lebanon’s hashish and heroin crop in 2009, with 51 acres of opium and 3,237 acres of cannabis eradicated, according to official statistics. (Lebanon Daily Star, March 3)