Cannabis and Taliban – landrace varieties and a trade deal with an Australian pharmacy

Afghanistan’s new Taliban government, desperate for money and exports to match what it has to import from other countries, may or may not have signed a cannabis trade deal with Australian pharmaceutical company Cpharm. This will give Cpharm access to the rare landrace varieties of cannabis that grow in Afghanistan and other Middle Eastern countries such as Pakistan.

Cannabis and Taliban – real story or hoax?

At least, that was the original report, as reported by The Times of London. Now, many are skeptical about whether the deal is true. Cpharm denies any involvement in such an announcement, but has said that while it is very possible that a cannabis deal is involved, it is not their company. Is this story too good to be true and is it a masterful troll move by the Taliban? Is there a movement backed by China or Russia to help the Afghan government set up a $450 million hashish processing plant? Time will tell whether this was just a hoax or whether the Taliban plan to export cannabis.

Although the Taliban is considered a terrorist group by many countries at the UN, its recent takeover of Afghanistan following the withdrawal of US troops has opened a crucial window of time in working with the Western world to try to establish a more democratic government and modern trade agreements.

While cannabis is making headlines, the physical country of Afghanistan could have a plethora of raw materials or important exports if trade agreements can be reached.

According to the American Sun:

Afghanistan is the world’s largest producer of opium, a major producer of cannabis and increasingly produces methamphetamine.

Landrace cannabis strains have a huge potential

Some in the cannabis industry are salivating with glee at the thought that very rare “Landrace” varieties could become available and shipped to countries like Canada and the US. With cannabis genetics and hybrids finally getting full scientific backing from places like the DEA and FDA, new genetic strains from rare landrace varieties could create exciting new products that could tackle a whole host of ailments.

Another problem facing the new Afghan government is that drugs and their production are officially illegal under the ultra-conservative Taliban regime. Yet Afghanistan is one of the world’s leading suppliers of opium and, more recently, methamphetamine. Previous Afghan governments have looked the other way when it comes to the flow of money into the country, but with legal trade agreements in place, the Taliban may be forced to recognise the production and export of cannabis as an official activity and product of Afghanistan. Given their ultra-conservative religion, this will be difficult, but as always, if there is enough money at stake, the government will find a way to make it legal while saving face religiously.

This information is still not officially verified but if we look at it from the point of view of cannabis in Afghanistan, their Landrace varieties are very rare and medicinally potent. We have a strain of cannabis that contains some of the rare genetics.