Lebanon's parliament has voted to legalise growing marijuana for medical use, amid an economic crisis exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic.

The country previously banned growing, selling and consuming cannabis, but illicit production in the country's east has developed over decades into a multi-million-dollar industry.

The vote to legalise the growing of cannabis for medical use was aimed at boosting revenues for the crippled economy.

MPs also approved the re-allocation of $40 million from a World Bank loan to help fight Covid-19, which has officially infected 677 people and killed 21 nationwide.