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Turkish President Erdogan legalizes drugs contrary to his Islamic faith

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Turkish President Erdogan legalizes drugs contrary to his Islamic faith

By Harut Sassounian

Publisher, The California Courier

Pinar Tremblay, a Turkish reporter for Al-Monitor news website, exposed Pres. Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s recent announcement to legalize the plantation of cannabis (a form of marijuana).

Tremblay wrote in the January 24, 2019 issue of Al-Monitor that the Turkish leader has been an outspoken opponent of selling or using alcohol, tobacco, and drugs due to his Islamic beliefs, however, he has now decided to advocate the plantation of cannabis in order to boost the country’s failing economy and provide farmers with additional income on the eve of municipal elections in Turkey.

Tremblay explained that for decades the Turkish government burned cannabis fields using the excuse that this was a fight against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). Erdogan is now presenting the plantation of cannabis as resistance to the West.

“Drug wars are enforced with harsh punishment for users and dealers. [Turkish] government spending to prosecute drug dealers has gradually increased, reaching up to $140 million. That is precisely why Erdogan’s advocacy for cannabis cultivation in his campaign speeches surprised audiences,” wrote Tremblay.

The Turkish government relaxed restrictions on planting hemp since 1990. The Parliament adopted even more liberal laws in September 2016. “It is already legal to grow hemp in 19 cities, but you need government permits,” according to Tremblay.

Erdogan has suddenly realized that there is a big profit to be made by the cultivation of marijuana, at a time when the Turkish economy is sinking. As the saying goes, “desperate times call for desperate measures!” On January 9, 2019 Erdogan criticized the “enemies of Turkey who pretend to be friends,” stating that they have forced Turkey to end its cannabis production. Amusingly, Erdogan recalled that in his ancestral hometown of Rize the locals used to make underwear from hemp which is more absorbent than any other material.

According to Tremblay, most Turks interpreted Erdogan’s statement “‘enemies who pretend to be friends’ as a reference to the United States, which pressed to ban opium poppy production in 1971. Up until then, Turkey was a major producer of legal opium, but farmers were known to produce also significant amount of the plants illegally. Currently, Turkey has one alkaloid processing plant in Central Anatolian province of Afyon, which means ‘opium’ in Turkish. Afyon is known for its high-quality poppy seed production. The factory produces ingredients to be used in prescription drugs.”

The Turkish media began obediently promoting Erdogan’s declaration about the benefits of cannabis production to the health sector and the economy. Sabah newspaper even wrote about the use of hemp by the Ottoman Turkish Navy.

“Turkish government television TRT started airing infomercials about cannabis while referring to it as an ‘Anatolian plant’ and elaborating on countless uses of hemp. Islamist media particularly was quite eager to back Erdogan. For example, Mehmet Toprak, a columnist for Dirilis Postasi, wrote a piece titled ‘Cannabis will make the US dollar weapon explode in their own hands.’ Topr...

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