2 Held as Security Forces Begin Destroying Poppy Fields in Bekaa
An operation to eradicate opium poppy fields in the Bekaa region has reached the Rasm al-Hadath area and two people were arrested there, state-run National News Agency reported Monday.
It said the campaign will continue until all crops in coastal and mountainous regions are removed.
Earlier in the day, NNA said the Internal Security Forces' anti-drug bureau, aided by the army, had launched an operation to demolish poppy fields in the town of Boday, west of Baalbek, and the Hermel region.
“Areas cultivated with this crop were obliterated in these two locations,” the agency added.
Last week, Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat announced his support for legalizing the cultivation of cannabis in Lebanon, especially in the impoverished Bekaa region.
“There should not be any concerns over legalizing and organizing the cultivation of cannabis for medical purposes, as it would not pose a health risk unless it is turned into an addiction," Jumblat said during an interview on al-Jadeed TV.
The PSP leader condemned the fact that authorities had offered Bekaa's peasants unviable alternative crops, such as saffron. “It is an easy to cultivate crop, but it needs experience. They cultivate it in Iran and it requires skilled workers,” Jumblat added.
Jumblat's remarks come on the heels of a recent statement by former tourism minister Fadi Abboud, who has recently called for “legalizing the cultivation, export and medical use of cannabis” in order to fund the stalled new wage scale.
A lot of residents in the Bekaa defend the opium and cannabis industry as their only source of employment. During Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war, Lebanese hashish, which is known for its quality, fed a flourishing industry that generated hundreds of millions of dollars a year in income.
Hashish is a cannabis product derived from the resin of the plant, and produced in large quantities in the Bekaa.
Under pressure from the United States, Lebanon has launched several eradication campaigns, and in past years, the army bulldozed thousands of hectares of cannabis.
Farmers had often taken up arms to defend their crop.
Y.R.
S.D.B.
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