Hemp Agricultural Production and Marketing Cooperative

The cultivation of hemp is currently allowed in 19 regions in Turkey. Hemp is used as a raw material in thousands of industrial products but the infrastructure to make this a valuable market has not been developed in Turkey. Turkey is looking to spread cannabis production across its arable lands to make use of it in the industry, including automotive, paper, textile, and pharmaceutical sectors and cut its imports that have been widening the current account deficit. The widespread use of industrial hemp indeed makes it a very attractive agricultural product, particularly for countries like Turkey that rely on imported products for various synthetic raw materials to be used in the automotive industry, paper manufacturing, textiles, pharmaceuticals, among others. History of cannabis cultivation in Turkey dates back to 1800-1500 B.C., and the land in the area is very hospitable for the plant. Before American and African kinds of cotton arrived in Turkey, all clothing in Turkey was made based on hemp and flax. Hemp cultivation reduced as of the 1990s due to narcotics pressure. At one time, 140,000 acres of cannabis cultivation was being carried out in Turkey. Today, cannabis cultivation is carried out on 200 acres of land. It dropped to 10 acres in 2013. Since 2013, cannabis cultivation increased with activities that created a set of awareness. In the last 10 years, serious studies are being made regarding the use of cannabis in drug production. There are many studies on cancer in particular. Maybe in the next 10 years, cannabinoids obtained from cannabis in several cancer drugs will come to the forefront. There is no production for the flowering parts from which drugs can be made. If laws allow this to happen in the future, evaluation of cannabis as a drug in Turkey may come to the agenda. Today, only R&D [research and development] studies can be carried out regarding this matter.