Turkey plans on leveraging hemp in surprising ways to help combat its crippling economic crisis. In an effort to diversify business, Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, announced that Turkey would be increasing cannabis production in order to grow and export hemp.
Ondokuz Mayıs University is Leading the Way Forward
The first crop of cannabis plants in Turkey were bred exclusively for research. Then, in June 2021, the research harvested the first crop.
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“We have been improving and breeding seeds since 2013 to cultivate a product with fine fibers for industrial use, and decrease the amount of drug material, and so far, we’ve had great success. We hope it can be used for medicines, food, flour, forestry products, rope, textiles.”
Selim Aytaç, the director of Ondokuz Mayıs University’s leading cannabis research center
Additionally, Hemp Products are Really Good for the Environment
“Bringing back hemp can have a global impact as world governments look at reducing carbon footprints. It uses far less resources than plastics or cotton.”
Hemp is “nature’s purifier.” It captures carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and cleans the air. In fact, for every ton of hemp produced, 1.63 tons of carbon is removed from the air. This data makes hemp more effective than trees for removing carbon from the air we breathe.
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Istanbul Has One of the Highest Rates of Substance Abuse, Globally
Despite the taboo nature of cannabis in Turkey, many people use drugs there. A first-of-its-kind study in Turkey from Istanbul University analyzed wastewater from 14 sewage treatment plants. The results suggest that the people of Istanbul are doing a lot of drugs.
According to the study, Istanbul has the second-highest level of substance consumption in the world after Barcelona. In fact, cannabis was the most-used illegal substance.
Legalizing cannabis will put production into the hands of the government and regulated businesses, which could help combat the illegal trade and help hinder organized crime.
As time moves forward, small villages in Turkey are beginning to see that growing hemp doesn’t need to be a bad thing.
“One village in Samsun has been leading the way [in] changing perceptions and opening up the conversation. In our trial in farming locations, sometimes the locals came and ripped up the plants in the night. But more and more people are starting to understand we’re not growing something harmful, we’re growing a product with value.”
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