On Thursday, the Moroccan government approved a bill to legalize cannabis for medical use, but retained the ban on its recreational use. The country is the best producer of world cannabis.
However, Parliament still needs to give its final approval to the legislation.
The bill calls for the establishment of a national authority to regulate the industry and to set up cooperatives that would grow “certified” cannabis plants.
The move would “transform illegal” cannabis plantations into “legal and sustainable job-generating activities”, according to the text of the bill.
According to a report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) last year, the North African country is the world’s largest producer of cannabis or cannabis.
Morocco’s cannabis production was estimated at more than 635.03 tonnes in a 2020 study by the Global Initiative against Cross-Border Organized Crime.
Figures published by the Moroccan authorities this week showed that 55,000 hectares of land in the northern mountainous Rif region were used to illegally grow hashish in 2019.
The authorities did not give newer estimates, but in 2018 production was estimated at 45,000 hectares.
Legalization of cannabis for medical use will place Morocco in a global market that is growing at an annual rate of 30% and at 60% per year in Europe, according to the Interior Ministry.
State regulation will improve farmers’ living conditions and protect them from illegal drug trafficking networks, the ministry said.
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