Lebanon's lawmakers on Tuesday approved a bill to legalize the cultivation of cannabis for medical use in an effort to boost the country's troubled economy.

The bill was passed during a parliamentary session despite objections from the Hezbollah parliamentary bloc, lawmakers told dpa.

Although it is illegal, Lebanon has long been one of the world's biggest producers of hashish.

Lawmakers have long been trying to legalize cannabis production for medical use. They argue it would pump revenue into the struggling economy, currently in its worst crisis since the 1975-90 civil war.

In March, Lebanon announced it would suspend payments of all the maturing Eurobonds in foreign currency in order to safeguard its foreign currency reserves.

The International Monetary Fund has projected that Lebanon's economy will shrink 12%in 2020.