The Iranian government announced Thursday that it plans to legalize marijuana for both medical and personal use, according to state media.
Iran’s parliament approved a bill that would allow Iranian citizens to purchase up to 2 ounces of marijuana from private, state-licensed stores and cafés.
The proposed law taxes marijuana up to 25 percent. Commercial marijuana growers would need to apply for a permit from the Iranian Ministry of Agriculture.
Middle East experts say the proposed law is unusual for Iran, an Islamic theocracy that has been governed by a highly conservative clerical elite since 1979. Under Islamic law, the country strictly forbids alcohol and drug consumption.
But the law is endorsed by ultra-conservative President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has championed the measure as a way to cut down on Iran’s prison population and to bring in extra revenue to the country, which has experienced a prolonged economic crisis because of economic mismanagement and international economic sanctions.
“Iran’s prisons are filled with thousands of people who have been arrested and imprisoned for possession of what is, quite frankly, a harmless plant,” Mr. Ahmadinejad told the state-run IRIB television. “It doesn’t make sense to spend our resources imprisoning such people when other serious crimes, such as the consumption of alcohol or women disobeying their husbands, are happening each day.”
Mr. Ahmadinejad said the measure will bring an important economic boost for the country’s agricultural sector and raise much-needed revenue for the state through the collection of permits and taxes.
“I was quite impressed when I visited the cannabis coffee shops in Amsterdam (Netherlands),” he said. “I thought, ‘Our country’s soils are quite suitable for the cultivation of marijuana, so why not grow it here and sell it in our coffee shops?’ The evil Western countries have made life in Iran difficult through the sanctions, so marijuana will help our people forget their troubles and relax.”
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