In 1879 the Ottoman government in Egypt banned the cultivation, distribution and importation of hashish (cannabis) in Egypt, and ordered the destruction of cannabis confiscated at customs. An 1880 decree then ordered the destruction of cannabis fields and stipulated a fine for growing cannabis.
Though cannabis was generally condemned by Islamic jurists as an intoxicant, its use had been a common social practice in Egypt for hundreds of years, and earlier attempts at banning it had not been very successful.
The official rationale for the ban was: "Since it is among our precious duties to safeguard public health, and since it is no secret that intoxicating hashish, cultivated in some places, has no other products but ones harmful to bodies and minds, it is the government’s grace to ban the cultivation of this plant totally in order to prevent such damages."
This health argument was likely influenced by an 1868 report by Muhammad Ali Bey, a prominent medical doctor. But the ban likely also reflects a desire by the Egyptian elite to present Egypt as a "modern" nation and change the image of the Egyptian as a delirious hashish smoker being popularized by European travellers.
Source: Kozma, L. (2011). Cannabis prohibition in Egypt. Middle Eastern Studies 47, 443-460.
| Drugs: |
Cannabis (marijuana) |
| Regions: |
Africa, Egypt |
| Topics: |
Prohibition |
Related Timeline Items
Cannabis generally prohibited in medieval Muslim society (c. 1200 - 1400 CE)
Whereas wine and gambling are explicitly prohibited in the Qur'an, no specific text gave guidance on hashish (cannabis). Nonetheless, the general legal attitude was against the use of hashish despite the fact that it was widely used in Muslim populations. Occasionally governments tried to take drastic steps against it but with little success.
For example, Baybars (1223-1277) prohibited wine and hashish and invoked the death penalty for those who used either. In the 14th century, Sudun ash-Shaykhuni punished people accused of making hashish by pulling out their molars. Neither attempt at prohibition appears to have had much effect other than killing and maiming a lot of people.
Ibn al-Baytar of Spain provides a description of the psychoactive effects of Cannabis (c. 1224 CE)
In Egypt, Ibn al-Baytar, a Arab botanist from Spain, observed hashish being eaten by the Sufis. He noted that the Sufis had a special way of preparing their hashish, by first baking the leaves and then forming a paste by rubbing them in between their hands. They would then roll the paste into a ball and eat it like a pill. In his diary, Ibn al-Baytar notes: "People [i.e. the Sufis] who use it [hashish] habitually have proved its pernicious effect, it enfeebles their minds by carrying to them maniac affections, sometimes it even causes death." Ibn al-Baytar also adds: "I recall having seen a time when men of the vilest class alone dared to eat it, still they did not like the name 'takers of hashish' applied to them."
Napoleon bans hashish in Egypt (1800 CE)
When Napoleon invaded Egypt in 1798, alcohol was not available and so his troops resorted to using hashish (cannabis). As a result of the heavy consumption of hashish by his troops, in 1800 Napoleon proclaimed: "It is forbidden in all of Egypt to use certain Moslem beverages made with hashish or likewise to inhale the smoke from seeds of hashish. Habitual drinkers and smokers of this plant lose their reason and are victims of violent delirium which is the lot of those who give themselves full to excesses of all sorts."
The soldiers largely ignored the order, and when they returned to France the following year, they took supplies of hashish with them.
Hemp-Eaters’ Coffee Houses (Egypt, 1870)