On 20 April 2020, the Lebanese Parliament passed a law permitting the cultivation, trade, research, and use of medical cannabis, titled Lebanon Law No. 178/2020 on Licensing the Cultivation of Cannabis for Medical Use. Lebanon Law No. 178/2020 was published in Official Gazette Issue No. 23/2020. The Lebanese government began first studying the legalizing of medical cannabis in 2018 where projected government revenue was expected to amount to USD 1 billion per annum.

Lebanon is not the first country in the extended region to legalize cannabis for medical use. Turkey passed laws in 2016 permitting doctors to prescribe certain cannabis-based medicine, and regulated cannabis cultivation in 19 out of its 81 provinces for medical and scientific purposes. In 2019, President Erdogan announced that soon all Turkish provinces should be allowed to cultivate cannabis for industrial use, i.e., for manufacturing textiles, foods, paper, personal care products, plastics, and building materials.

The passing of Lebanon Law No. 178/2020 by Lebanon creates an opportunity for leading medical cannabis companies, such as those in the US and Canada, that have globalized their business in the past years.