On 27 October 2014 two local youths were smoking marijuana outside in Ghalat when local basijis confronted them and sprayed them with pepper spray.[1] A fight broke out and other villagers came to defend the youths, and the basiji called Shiraz police for backup.[1] The basiji shot and injured two youths.[1] Later that day villagers went to protest outside Shiraz’s police station, where clashes again broke out.[1] In the end 12 Ghalat residents were arrested.[1] The basiji who shot the youths left the village.[1] That account listed the accusations as actions against national security, attacking a police post and forming a mafia group to disrupt security.[2]

The village, which lies in a mountainous area near Shiraz in Fars province, became known across Iran as a cannabis-growing and -selling place and was nicknamed “Little Amsterdam”.[1] Farmers there turned to planting marijuana after a decade of serious droughts made wine production difficult, and growers hid the plants in the woods.[1] Marijuana from the village sold for about 3,000 euros a kilogram, against about 5,500 euros for marijuana brought in from outside Iran.[1] A Ghalat resident said the cultivated land could not be measured precisely because the plots were scattered but estimated it at about 2 to 5 hectares, with more than 500 kilograms of dried cannabis a year.[2]

Cannabis is illegal in Iran, where possession of any amount carries at least 50 lashes and a fine, with prison terms and, for repeat offences, the death penalty for larger quantities.[1] Residents also allege that arrested people are quickly released and that police take bribes from dealers, a claim France 24 said it could not verify and for which it received no police reply.[1]