Cannabis in Egypt is illegal, however it is widely used but not publicly. Law enforcements are often particularly lax when it comes to cannabis smokers. Also, its use is a part of the common culture in the country for many people. Large-scale smuggling of cannabis is punishable by death, while penalties for possessing even small amounts can also be severe. Despite this, these laws are not enforced in many parts of Egypt, where cannabis is often consumed openly in local cafes.

History

Evidence has suggested that cannabis has been present in Egypt since circa 3000 BC. However, whether or not it was used for psychoactive purposes during this time has not been documented. It was stated in a book written in 1980 that cannabis cultivation has occurred in Egypt for "almost a thousand years". During this time, cannabis was used for making rope and it was also cultivated for use as a drug. Cannabis has been utilized in Egypt for hashish production for at least the last "eight or nine centuries". It has been stated that hashish was introduced to Egypt by " mystic Islamic travelers" from Syria sometime during the Ayyubid dynasty in the 12th century AD. Hashish consumption by Egyptian

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has been documented as occurrent in the thirteenth century AD, and a unique type of cannabis referred to as

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Indian hemp may refer to any of various fiber bearing plan ...

was also documented during this time. At this time, the Indian hemp was described as having been called ''hashishab'', as only been seen (by the writer) in Egypt, and as having been grown in gardens. Enforcement against cannabis dates back as early as around the 14th century, when cannabis users in Egypt could be punished by having their teeth pulled out.

French period

In the 18th century, a French army officer wrote that due to the use of hashish “the mass of gypt’smale population is in a perpetual state of stupor!” During

Napoléon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

's invasion of Egypt in 1798, alcohol was not available per Egypt being an Islamic country. In lieu of alcohol, Bonaparte's troops resorted to trying hashish, which they found to their liking. As a result of the conspicuous consumption of hashish by the troops, the smoking of hashish and consumption of drinks containing it was banned in October 1800, although the troops mostly ignored the order. Subsequently, beverages containing hashish were banned in Egyptian cafes; cafes that sold them were shut down and "boarded up", and their proprietors were jailed. During this time, hashish imported from other countries was destroyed by burning. Upon the end of the occupation in 1801, French troops brought supplies of hashish with them back to France.

Ottoman period

In 1877, the Ottoman government in Constantinople mandated that all hashish in Egypt be destroyed, and in 1879 importation of cannabis was banned by the

Khedivate of Egypt The Khedivate of Egypt ( or , ; ota, خدیویت مصر ') was an autonomous tributary state of the Ottoman Empire, established and ruled by the Muhammad Ali Dynasty following the defeat and expulsion of Napoleon Bonaparte's forces which br ...

British period

In 1887 the British occupied Egypt, which remained nominally an autonomous Ottoman province but de facto British controlled. Soon after the Egyptian government issued an 1884 ban on cultivation, though officials were permitted to confiscate and export captured hashish rather than destroy it. Despite these measures, production and sale of cannabis continued, with authorities routinely shutting down premises where cannabis was consumed, into the 20th century.

Economy

Cannabis is grown throughout the year in the

Sinai Peninsula The Sinai Peninsula, or simply Sinai (now usually ) (, , cop, Ⲥⲓⲛⲁ), is a peninsula in Egypt, and the only part of the country located in Asia. It is between the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Red Sea to the south, and is ...

and in

Upper Egypt Upper Egypt ( ar, صعيد مصر ', shortened to , , locally: ; ) is the southern portion of Egypt and is composed of the lands on both sides of the Nile that extend upriver from Lower Egypt in the north to Nubia in the south. In ancient E ...

. The trade is largely focused in Sinai, and the area has been the main target of eradication efforts, with 7 million cannabis plants (along with 10.3 million opium plants) eradicated there in 1994.

Cannabis culture

In 1800, French troops in Egypt noted that the Muslim locals both smoked the "seeds" of the hemp plant, as well as making a beverage from hemp. A number of cannabis preparations combined with other psychoactive plants have been recorded in Egypt, including bosa (cannabis combined with bearded darnel) and a waterpipe smoking blend combined with

henbane ''Hyoscyamus niger'', commonly known as henbane, black henbane, or stinking nightshade, is a poisonous plant in the nightshade family Solanaceae. It is native to temperate Europe and Siberia, and naturalised in Great Britain and Ireland. ...

. The ''gozah'' is the traditional Egyptian water-pipe; a 1980 Egyptian study noted that smoking was the most popular method of cannabis consumption (89.4% of those surveyed), with the majority of smokers using the water-pipe. A 1925 report noted that hashish that is "mixed with sugar and cooked with butter and flavoring, is made into the candy known in Egypt as manzul, maagun, and garawish".