Marruecos fue uno de los países que votaron a favor de que la Comisión de Estupefacientes de las Naciones Unidas (CND) reclasificara al cannabis como una droga de menor peligrosidad. La reñida encuesta, en la que se obtuvieron 27 votos a favor y 25 en contra (incluida una abstención), seguía una recomendacion de la Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS) del año pasado. Esta medida podría allanar el camino para un reconocimiento internacional más amplio del uso médico y terapéutico del cannabis, ya que con la votación se eliminará la droga de la Lista IV de la Convención Única de 1961 sobre Estupefacientes de las Naciones Unidas, una categoría de drogas que se consideran entre las más peligrosas y altamente adictivas.

Marruecos, principal productor mundial del cannabis, se dispone a legalizar ciertos usos "médicos e industriales" de la planta, según un proyecto de ley presentado hoy en el Consejo de Gobierno y que será previsiblemente aprobado la semana próxima. Tras varias décadas de prohibición absoluta, que mantienen teóricamente en la ilegalidad a cerca de 100.000 familias que viven del cultivo del kif, sobre todo en las montañas del Rif, Marruecos se suma así a una tendencia mundial de despenalización controlada, pero excluyendo los "usos recreativos". La ley establece que los agricultores que quieran pasar a la legalidad deberán formar cooperativas, que a su vez venderán su producción a una agencia nacional que tendrá el monopolio de la transformación y comercialización del producto final.

Morocco’s Ministry of Interior developed a study, showing the country’s interest to prioritize the European market in terms of the supply of medical cannabis. The ministry presented a feasibility study to the Committee for the Interior, Local Authorities, and  Urban Policy in the House of Representatives, showing that the annual net income from cannabisfor medical use could reach MAD 110,000 ($12,316) per hectare. The study stipulates that the annual net income represents an improvement of 40% compared to the current numbers. The study also outlines the expectations of the share of Moroccan production in the European market. (See also: Légalisation du cannabis : revenus potentiels, marchés cibles... que dit l’étude de faisabilité du ministère de l’Intérieur ?)

Years of investigations have revealed the intricate money laundering network that turns Moroccan hash into gold in Dubai. Revelations into the dealings of Kaloti Jewellery International Group in Dubai have unearthed Moroccan examples of a global problem. Earnings from the sale of Moroccan cannabis in Europe move through shadowy networks as gold bullion, destined for Dubai. Investigations into gold refiner Kaloti unearthed reportsof tonnes of Moroccan gold coated in silver to evade the country’s gold export limits. Yet Moroccan hash also turns into gold for money laundering in Europe itself. Some gold retailers on the continent are perfectly happy to turn bundles of small currency into solid gold, for a good commission.

Morocco’s rugged Rif Mountains have long been renowned for their cannabis but traditional varieties are being smoked out by foreign hybrids offering higher yields and greater potency. The local strain of marijuana, known as Beldiya, is coveted by afficionados but is gradually disappearing from the fields. Nowadays in Ketama, a region in the heart of the northern Rif, a strain called “Critical” is king. Major cannabis producers decide what to plant and “hybrid plants have become a market all on their own,” said Moroccan anthropologist Khalid Mouna, who has written a thesis on the economics of Ketama’s cannabis production. Critical, which Mouna said comes from the Netherlands, is the latest hybrid created in laboratories in Europe or North America to be introduced to Morocco.

Morocco’s government adopted bill 13-21, intending to legalize the production of cannabis for medicinal and therapeutic use in its weekly meeting after a few weeks of discussion. After the approval, Morocco will be among the first countries on the African continent to permit the use of cannabis for medical and therapeutic purposes. Observers were certain Morocco would make such a move after the country voted to remove cannabis from the list of the UN’s Schedule IV category of drugs that have limited or no therapeutic use. The North African country was the only member of the UN Commission on Narcotics Drugs (NCD) in the MENA to vote in favor of the cannabis’ removal from the list of toxic substances. (See also: Morocco’s new cannabis legalization bill explained)

This policy briefing discusses whether or not the aim of reducing cannabis cultivation is realistic or beneficial for Morocco, what it would actually mean for the major production area the Rif – one of the poorest, most densely populated and environmentally fragile regions in the country – and what that could imply for meaningful sustainable development. The briefing will give some historical background, discuss developments in the cannabis market, and highlight environmental and social consequences as well as the recent debate about regulation in Morocco and about European policies.

Download the briefing (PDF) | Version en français (PDF)

The Cannabis Activities Regulatory Agency (ANRAC), a brand new organization to regulate the legal cultivation of cannabis, issued ten permits for processing and manufacturing cannabis in Morocco. The agency also granted permission to market and export cannabis and its derivatives for medical, pharmaceutical, and industrial purposes. According to a statement issued by ANRAC on October 4, this measure is part of the execution of Law 13-21 on the legal uses of this plant. Following the issuance of the first batch of authorizations, ANRAC will begin authorizing farmers to legally cultivate and produce cannabis within a tightly regulated framework of agricultural cooperatives.

Farmers have planted the first legal cannabis crop in Morocco, long a top producer of black-market hashish. For now, it’s shaping up to be a modest entry into the above-board market, but hopes are high the nation will one day become a key supplier to the steadily opening European market. The country’s first growing season began in June after legal cultivation was authorized to a group of farmers and companies for medical and industrial use. The government has touted the project as an opportunity to boost revenue, create jobs and protect the environment. Cultivation for recreational use is still banned, however, which experts say limits how quickly the industry will be able to grow.

Few countries produce more cannabis than Morocco, where locals mix it with tobacco and call it kif, meaning “supreme happiness”. The pleasure extends to Europe, where much of the cannabis ends up. Farmers in the Rif, a poor mountainous region in northern Morocco, produce most of the supply. They operate in a legal grey area. Growing cannabis is against the law in Morocco, but it is tolerated in the Rif. A bill passed by parliament, but yet to be approved by the king, may clarify the situation, at least somewhat. It would legalise the cultivation, use and export of cannabis for medical and industrial purposes (such as for hemp in textiles). The proposed law, though, would not legalise cannabis for recreational use. And it would allow cannabis farming only in certain regions of the country, such as the Rif.

Morocco has ratified the legislative changes required to start the country’s promising domestic legal cannabis industry for medical and export purposes. The prospect of legalizing Moroccan cannabis products has long captivated investors in the rapidly growing global Cannabis industry, given Morocco’s historic reputation for quality cannabis production. Given Morocco’s various free trade agreements and expertise in cultivating the plant, the decree aims to move large parts of the illicit cannabis market out of the shadows, and into the spotlight of international investors and consumers. 

Morocco plans to allow the farming, export and domestic sale of cannabis for medical and industrial use, a move it hopes will help impoverished farmers in the Rif mountains amid a growing legal global market. The bill, which the cabinet is expected to approve next week, aims to improve farmers’ incomes, protect them from drug traffickers who now control the trade in cannabis and gain access to the booming legal international market for the drug. The draft law envisages a national agency to monitor production, transportation and sales. The recreational use of cannabis in Morocco would still be banned.Cannabis is mostly grown in the northern Rif mountains, which in recent years have seen protests over economic inequality. (See also: Confirmed: Morocco will legalize cannabis next week)

The UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) met to vote on several rescheduling recommendations on cannabis. Morocco provided an important “yes” vote to remove cannabis from the UN’s Schedule IV category of drugs that have limited or no therapeutic use. The vote concluded with a 27-25 majority, meaning that without Morocco’s “yes” vote, the cannabis recommendation likely would not have passed. “Morocco’s vote today means that the country has joined the community of forward-looking states recognizing the historical error of denying the medical usefulness of cannabis,” the Transnational Institute’s (TNI) drug policy expert Tom Blickman said. (See also: Potential fall-out from the vote on the WHO cannabis recommendations)

2023 may be the year of his first legal cannabis harvest in Morocco. After years of semi-underground, Aziz has decided to move over to "the legal side." The farmer from the Rif, a mountainous region in northern Morocco that is home to one of the world's largest cannabis-producing areas, intends to turn his back on drug traffickers and sell his kif to companies involved in the manufacture of cannabis products. "Two Americans came to the village a few days ago," he said. "They want to build a factory in the area and will need large quantities. They are interested in our plants. We haven't talked about price yet." "What I fear is that the benefits will go to the state, laboratories and multinationals and that we will be left behind," said Farid, in his fifties, who grows kif in a nearby village.

The government of Morocco approved a law to allow the cultivation, export and use of cannabis for medicine or industry. Parliament looks likely to ratify it, despite the issue dividing the governing coalition’s biggest party. The change is meant to improve the lot of farmers in the often restive Rif region where it has been grown for decades, and to tap into a growing global market for legal cannabis. But the law has divided Rif farmers, who fear it will do nothing to address a years-long slide in their income or help them escape outstanding arrest warrants. Some want the law to allow recreational cannabis use and its processing into more lucrative resin - “hashish”. Others want its cultivation limited to their region alone. (See also: Cannabis: «moi, Abdeslam, cultivateur de kif, voici ce que ça me coûte»)

After several amendments, Morocco's House of Councilors has approved the hotly-debated bill on the limited legalization of cannabis for medical purposes. Morocco's Parliament put Bill No. 13.21, concerning the commercialization and legal uses of cannabis, up for vote during today’s governmental plenary session. It passed by a majority vote, with 41 advisers voting for and 11 voting against. The bill aims to improve Moroccan farmers' income as well as to give rise to "promising and sustainable" job opportunities in the country's rural regions. Interior Minister Abdel-Wafi Laftit, who introduced the draft bill at the session, underlined that the main goal of the bill is to improve cannabis farmers' quality of life and general wellbeing.

Morocco is legalizing cannabis at a breakneck pace, with its legalization bill likely to receive approval within a month of its conception. The bill, so far only available in Arabic, contains a wealth of information on the government’s framework on which it aims to build a legal cannabis industry. Many sections of the bill, primarily involving the domestic market, require additional legislation, yet the bill in its current state allows for a good overview of Morocco’s intended cannabis framework. One noticeable missing element in the bill is any mention of the rights and obligations of future domestic medical cannabis users. However, the bill does include most provisions for international export.

Following its first meeting yesterday, Morocco’s cannabis watchdog agency is now officially operational. The agency is set to oversee the cultivation and use of cannabis for medical and commercial purposes. The milestone comes months after the country adopted provisional legislation in 2021 to regulate the cultivation and industrial use of cannabis. Chaired by Morocco’s Interior Minister Abdelouafi Laftit, the agency deliberated on a number of measures relating to the agency’s internal organization including management of its 2022 budget. On the list of the agency’s responsibilities is overseeing activities along the cannabis production chain, starting from acquiring seeds to the marketing and export of cannabis-based products. (See also: Morocco to ensure ‘positive impact’ on legal cannabis growers)

Cognizant of developments in the United States in Colorado and Washington state, Moroccan social media has been abuzz this summer with a seemingly unlikely possibility: the legalization of cannabis. Activists and politicians in Morocco are close to firming up a date later this month for the parliament to host a seminar on the economic implications of legalization. The powerful Party of Authenticity and Modernity will chair the daylong seminar. This has led some commentators to speculate that the move may even have the blessing of the monarchy. In recent years, despite improvements in production, both small farmers and big producers have seen their cannabis-related income plummet.