Turkey Cultivates Industrial Hemp to Overcome Economic Crisis
One of the most prominent advocates for the legalization of industrial hemp in Turkey is 72-year-old journalist Abdurrahman Dilipak. In his column for the conservative newspaper “Yeni Akit,” he writes: “Cannabis has a thousand benefits… It purifies the air, water, and soil.”
Attitudes toward industrial hemp are gradually changing within the country, and Turkey is beginning to experiment with reviving a once widespread agricultural crop. Industrial hemp was cultivated in Turkeyโs humid Black Sea region until strict anti-drug laws were introduced in the 1970s. The last Turkish factory producing paper and textiles from hemp closed in 2000, unable to compete with cheap petroleum-based materials imported from India.
In 2019, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoฤan, in an effort to overcome the economic crisis, unexpectedly announced that the country would increase cannabis production in hopes of restoring the once-thriving hemp export industry.
“Since 2013, we have been improving and producing seeds to grow a product with fine fibers for industrial use. And we have succeeded. The material we obtain is planned to be used for making medicines, food, flour, rope, and textiles,” says Selima Aytac, director of the Cannabis Research Center at Ondokuz Mayis University.
The return of industrial hemp has positive global implications. Its cultivation uses far fewer resources than the production of plastic or cotton.
As Abdurrahman Dilipak notes, legalizing cannabis will help regulate the illegal industry by taking production out of the hands of organized crime. This is especially relevant for Istanbul, which ranks second in the world for psychoactive substance consumption after Barcelona, with cannabis being the most popular drug.
Our other channels
Our friends and partners