Jumblatt renews calls to legalize marijuana

Jumblatt argued that crop substitution programs have all failed and forced farmers in north Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley to leave their lands
The Daily Star (Lebanon)
Sunday, December 14, 2014

Walid Jumblatt has renewed calls to legalize the cultivation and sale of marijuana. The head of the Progressive Socialist Party wrote that the time has come to sanction pot and end the state's prosecution of its sellers. "It is time to allow for the cultivation of marijuana, and to drop the right to issue arrest warrants against people who work in this field," the prominent Druze leader said. Jumblatt caused a stir in May when he announced unequivocally that he was for legalizing marijuana. At the time, he told Al-Jadeed television that he supported the cultivation of the drug to help struggling farmers.