BEIRUT, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri transferred the draft law on cannabis harvesting in Lebanon for industrial and medical uses to parliamentary committees on Friday, said a report by local news agency Al Markazia.
The move comes over a month after Berri, who heads Amal movement, said that the state is moving toward legalizing cannabis harvesting in Lebanon in an attempt to boost the struggling economy.
The draft law was introduced a week ago by the movement.
Growing cannabis in Lebanon is illegal but powerful landowners in Bekaa Valley have openly grown fields for decades without being touched by law enforcement.
Caretaker Economy Minister Raed Khoury previously said that Lebanese cannabis "stands out as among the best in the world."
In a plan to boost Lebanon's economy, the New York-based consulting firm McKinsey suggested to legalize cannabis to help the country's economy in the short term.
