Canadian study saying cannabis treats corona benefits terrorists, not patients

Shaimaa Hefzy

“Medical cannabis against Covid-19” is an exciting title for a scientific research study published in Canada about the possibility of obtaining a treatment for the Covid-19 corona virus, which comes after another similar proposal that postulated nicotine from smoking can protect from the virus.

Cannabis fears

There are various concerns surrounding this study, such as increasing cannabis consumption rates, which carries the greater risk of increasing funding for terrorist organizations that rely on drug trafficking to finance their terrorist operations.

Hezbollah traffickers

Hezbollah is the most prominent group that trades in hashish to finance its terrorist operations, and given the size of its trade, the Lebanese government has considered legalizing the trade in a manner that reduces economic pressure on the country.

Hash economy

According to a study prepared by the US-based management consulting firm McKinsey & Company, which the Lebanese government used earlier to prepare a vision for improving the country’s economic returns, it was estimated that the revenues Lebanon could produce from cannabis are about $1 billion annually, where the establishment of pharmaceutical factories would also contribute to increasing the expected financial returns instead of raw export.

The Lebanese Ministry of Economy had confirmed that legalizing cannabis could generate more than $500 million annually, with hopes that an oversight mechanism would be established that would include setting up a production tax in order to make a financial jump similar to governments in North America that have approved legislation legalizing cannabis for therapeutic purposes.

The study revealed the amount of money that Lebanon could earn, pointing to the amount of funding that Hezbollah receives from the cannabis trade, which explains its opposition to the law. The terrorist group would be most affected, as it depends on the cultivation of hashish and exporting it throughout the Arab world in order to finance its operations.

Despite Hezbollah’s attempts to export a supposed religious image, it has joined Iran’s militias that are not abhorred by drug trafficking despite their religious slogans to export the revolution, using drugs as one of the most prominent means of economic income to finance their terrorist operations.

Lebanon ranks third in hashish

The United Nations confirms that Lebanon is the third producer of hashish in the world after Afghanistan and Morocco. Hezbollah exports the plant in cooperation with Afghanistan, where the Taliban exploits it to finance its terrorist operations in Afghanistan.

Cannabis has turned into a cash crop growing in Iran’s backyard gardens to finance the mullahs’ terrorist operations in Iraq, Yemen and Syria.

If the Canadian study proves positive results or individuals believe that cannabis can contribute to preventing or treating the corona virus, then terrorist groups will benefit on all levels.

Cannabis cultivation in Lebanon is mainly concentrated on the plains of the poor but fertile Bekaa Valley region in the country’s east, which extends 120 km from north to south. The cultivation of the drug in Lebanon dates back several centuries, at least since the time of Ottoman rule.

During the Lebanese civil war (1975-1990), hashish constituted a major source of income for militias involved in the conflict, regardless of their sect.

In the mid-1980s, Western intelligence services estimated cannabis production at more than 1,814 tons annually in Lebanon, which at that time became one of the main centers of drug trafficking in the world. This, in addition to the production of heroin and cocaine, produced approximately $4 billion in annual profits for local drug barons.

Beginning in the 2000s, various Lebanese governments launched operations aimed at eliminating the cultivation of cannabis and the poppy plant, which have been a source of sustenance for entire families. But Beirut has never succeeded in eliminating it, as it has failed to secure a comprehensive alternative development project in the region or to ensure that farmers are compensated for the resulting losses if they stop selling their harvests to local drug dealers.

At the start of the 2010 years, two hectares produced tens of thousands of dollars per year. Years ago, a well-known merchant who did not hide that he made his fortune from hashish, publicly challenged the authorities, saying, “If you legalize cannabis for six months, I will pay off all government debts.”