Caymans Post

A world within. A state apart.
Thursday, Mar 28, 2024

Taliban weed about to attract millions in foreign investment

Taliban weed about to attract millions in foreign investment

A German investor plans to produce medical cannabis in Afghanistan
CPharm International (ECI), a German research and development firm, has said it is planning a multi-million-dollar investment in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, with the aim of producing weed for medical purposes.

Following an unfortunate case of mistaken identity in late 2021, Vice media agency tracked down a German company, CPharm International (ECI), which has struck a deal with the Taliban.

Last year, a tweet from the Afghan Ministry of the Interior claimed that a firm called “Cpharm” had met with Taliban officials and would invest $450 million in Afghanistan to set up a “hashish-processing” operation. The media wrongly identified a small Australian medical consulting firm of the same name; they vehemently denied the link with the Taliban.

Werner Zimmermann, 56, ECI’s owner and managing director, told Vice on Friday he was not happy that news of the deal had gone public, and claimed the scale of the agreement had been misconstrued.

His company operates in Lesotho, Morocco, Kyrgyzstan, North Macedonia, and Cyprus, with Kazakhstan and Afghanistan soon to be added to the list.

Zimmermann’s firm builds cannabis-processing plants and consults on legal issues, such as the feasibility of exporting medical weed to other countries. The Afghan project is due to follow the building of a €500,000 ($565,818) plant in Kazakhstan.

ECI plans to produce medical cannabis in Afghanistan for both local and international markets, but if countries like Germany legalize the drug, they may start growing the plant for recreational use, the businessman told Vice.

Zimmermann dismissed concerns about human rights abuses committed by the Taliban. “I work professionally, not ideologically, with the minister of the interior in charge, and I support them with my project,” he said.

The businessman also claimed that he’s been receiving threats from representatives of a European drug cartel who are unhappy with his plans, which could cut into their share of the market.

Despite being outlawed since the ‘70s, the cannabis plant is indigenous to Afghanistan and was, at least until the Taliban takeover in the summer, consumed by people in remote parts of the country.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Caymans Post
0:00
0:00
Close
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
Israel: Unprecedented Civil Disobedience Looms as IDF Reservists Protest Judiciary Reform
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
The politician and the journalist lost control and started fighting on live broadcast.
The future of sports
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
Joe Biden admitted, in his own words, that he delivered what he promised in exchange for the $10 million bribe he received from the Ukraine Oil Company.
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
The Changing Face of Europe: How Mass Migration is Reshaping the Political Landscape
China Urges EU to Clarify Strategic Partnership Amid Trade Tensions
Europe is boiling: Extreme Weather Conditions Prevail Across the Continent
The Last Pour: Anchor Brewing, America's Pioneer Craft Brewer, Closes After 127 Years
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Italian Court's Controversial Ruling on Sexual Harassment Ignites Uproar
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
BBC Anchor Huw Edwards Hospitalized Amid Child Sex Abuse Allegations, Family Confirms
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Distorted Mirror of actual approval ratings: Examining the True Threat to Democracy Beyond the Persona of Putin
40,000 child slaves in Congo are forced to work in cobalt mines so we can drive electric cars.
BBC Personalities Rebuke Accusations Amidst Scandal Involving Teen Exploitation
A Swift Disappointment: Why Is Taylor Swift Bypassing Canada on Her Global Tour?
Historic Moment: Edgars Rinkevics, EU's First Openly Gay Head of State, Takes Office as Latvia's President
Bye bye democracy, human rights, freedom: French Cops Can Now Secretly Activate Phone Cameras, Microphones And GPS To Spy On Citizens
The Poor Man With Money, Mark Zuckerberg, Unveils Twitter Replica with Heavy-Handed Censorship: A New Low in Innovation?
Unilever Plummets in a $2.5 Billion Free Fall, to begin with: A Reckoning for Misuse of Corporate Power Against National Interest
Beyond the Blame Game: The Need for Nuanced Perspectives on America's Complex Reality
Twitter Targets Meta: A Tangle of Trade Secrets and Copycat Culture
The Double-Edged Sword of AI: AI is linked to layoffs in industry that created it
US Sanctions on China's Chip Industry Backfire, Prompting Self-Inflicted Blowback
Meta Copy Twitter with New App, Threads
The New French Revolution
BlackRock Bitcoin ETF Application Refiled, Naming Coinbase as ‘Surveillance-Sharing’ Partner
×