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According to the research, “Hemp grows in patches of grass between houses and is mixed with flowers of other colors in flower beds. There is also a hemp crop near the mosque and on the road near a huge yellow flag belonging to a from Hezbollah headquarters. “
Jamal al-Sharif, the head of Yammouneh village, praised hemp as a “blessed tree” for its many characteristics and ease of cultivation.
The investigation noted: “But for the first time since he started growing cannabis two decades ago, the sheriff did not grow hemp this year because a series of events wiped out most of the profits that came from the village’s main produce, which It is the hashish extracted from the plant, and instead of Hemp and marijuana now they focus on apples. “
He noted that “the real cause of the crisis is more realistic, as the Lebanese pound has lost 80% of its value against the US dollar since last fall, and farmers have been affected. The costs of importing fuel and Fertilizers needed to grow hemp have increased, while the value of the Lebanese pound that farmers get from the sale has decreased. ” More and more hashish. “
He added: “The financial crisis in Lebanon also undermined the domestic drug market, and the war in Syria complicated smuggling routes, making it difficult for intermediaries to reach foreign markets.”
The fallout has caused painful decisions to be made in Yammouneh, a quaint little village in an abandoned enclave of Lebanon where drugs, poverty and stunning natural beauty converge in unexpected ways.
The hashish extracted from the plant and its sale to smugglers who take it out of the country has helped more than any other crop to lift the villagers out of extreme poverty. The drugs provided reliable income that their more volatile legal crops, such as apples and potatoes, could not, and financed the expansion of homes, the purchase of trucks and the education of children.
Today, the profits from the hashish trade are so small that some Yammouna farmers complain about the viability of growing and producing it.
Al-Sharif said: “It’s over … now hashish cultivation is a hobby.”
According to reports issued by the United Nations, the production of hashish in Yammouneh, in addition to other communities, has made Lebanon the third largest supplier of hashish in the world, after Morocco and Afghanistan.
Although hashish, a drug that contains high levels of THC or THC, is illegal to produce, possess and sell in Lebanon, earlier this year the government passed a law legalizing some cannabis crops for medicinal purposes. But the law has yet to be implemented and the hemp grown in Yammouna remains illegal.
The research indicates that “the economic crisis in Lebanon now threatens to do what years of military raids and government efforts to combat drugs have failed to do, which is to reduce the production of hashish.”
While farmers fondly recall the days when a kilogram of cannabis was easily sold for between $ 500 and $ 800, and in the few years the price rose above $ 1,000, farmers fear that the profits from the product of this year they could drop to about $ 100 per kilogram, or about 45. Dollars a pound.
The investigation stated: “The past few months have seen dozens of Syrian refugees working harvesting hemp plants and packing the cut stalks into large bales. Most of the Syrian refugees are minors, some of whom are under 9 years, and they said they went to work after their schools closed for a reason. Coronavirus pandemic. “
They added that they each earned around $ 2.50 for a long day in the sun.
According to the research, “The population of Yammouna is about 5,000 people, at the base of a mountain in the Bekaa Valley, and they are Shiites. Almost everyone has the same last name, which is Al-Sharif. About 1,200 Syrians They have settled in the area to find work and flee the war across the border. “
Talal Al-Sharif, mayor and chairman of the elected municipal council, referred to the old days when the Lebanese government, with funding from the United States, tried to eradicate the hemp cultivation and the hashish trade, and sent soldiers to burn fields, which led to clashes with armed farmers. But those efforts were officially neglected nearly a decade ago.
Al-Sharif went on, explaining the position of the Lebanese authorities, saying: “It has reached a state where they realized that poverty is the reason behind these activities and that they may have said: Let’s leave these people alone. and let’s act like we don’t see them. “
