After Kurdish forces took Kobane from Assad's army in July 2012, marijuana growing spread through the surrounding villages and onto rooftops in the town. The local Asayish spokesman told Rudaw that almost every village was growing it and that nobody had been arrested because nearly everyone was involved and the villagers were armed. Residents said the crop had been known for much longer; before the war, users and traffickers were sentenced to life in prison under Assad.[1]
Listed for context. No score change is recorded for Syria here.
References
- Rudaw — Poverty Leading to Marijuana Farms in Kobane (24 August 2012, Wayback capture)opening paragraphs and Asayish spokesman Rojin Hamid
Checked. The date and the event were compared with a source that was read.