Picture from HuffingtonPost

Lebanon’s instability and the war raging in Syria are blessings in disguise for drug dealers and Hashish growers in the Bekaa. According to this article, 40 grams sell for $20 in Lebanon, $100 in Syria and up to $500 in Turkey.

Lebanese marijuana grower Abu Sami is practically rubbing his hands together with glee: the Syrian conflict has paralysed authorities at home and left the nearby border virtually uncontrolled.

“This year, the harvest was abundant, and the authorities have left us alone because they are otherwise occupied,” he tells AFP in Lebanon’s eastern Bekaa region.

In the past, the Lebanese army would descend annually to destroy some of the illicit crop, but this year the harvest has gone untouched.

The area shares a long, porous border with Syria and is a stronghold of the Shiite Lebanese movement Hezbollah, which is fighting alongside the Syrian regime against a 32-month-old uprising. [HuffingtonPost]