Hashish Shortage Hits Egypt

Local consumers are no strangers to shortages in basic commodities — be it butagas, bread or diesel — but a dearth of hashish in the last few months is causing some users considerable anxiety.

“At first, it was quite impossible to find hash, but after a few days I started hearing from friends that there is hash available, but it was double and sometimes even three times its regular price,” says one hash smoker who asked his name not be revealed out of fear of arrest. The price of one irsh (20 grams) has reportedly reached as much as LE 500, up from LE 120.

Despite being banned by law, the cannabis resin is widely consumed all over the nation. A report by the PA’s Health Committee estimates that seven million Egyptians smoke hashish and spend more than LE 22 billion on the illegal substance a year — a sum equivalent to 2.5 percent of Egypt’s GDP.

The hashish shortage has been attributed to the confiscation of about 800 kilograms of the drug that was being smuggled into the country via the Mediterranean sea border, along with many smaller raids throughout the country. An April 3 article in the state-run daily Al-Ahram, titled “The Interior Ministry imposes control over the drug market,” announced that the hash trade was coming to an end.

Others believe that the drug lords themselves are withholding supplies to raise the price of the highly-demanded drug.

El-Dostour columnist Walid Kassab commented about the ‘crisis:’ “The entire nation is boiling and people have become short-tempered. ElBaradei, movements calling for change, the Muslim Brotherhood, presidential election, strikes, protests, sit-ins and sectarian strife, let alone the normal daily problems caused by poverty. Don’t you think with all these problems, we need at least 20 tons of hash?”

-Taken from Egypt Today