Morocco is the world’s largest producer of cannabis. Last Thursday, the Moroccan government officially authorized three provinces to cultivate and produce cannabis for “legal use,” a local media reported.
In March 2021, Morocco launched a process of legalizing cannabis for medical, cosmetic, and industrial use, recalled the media MiddleEyesEast.
The bill provided “the creation of a national regulatory agency which will be responsible for developing an agricultural and industrial circuit, and this will go through the creation of cooperatives of farmers authorized to cultivate certified plants.” added the media.
The legalization project “was born of the failure of a few alternative development projects implemented in the Rif.” The ministry set up several scientific studies focusing mainly on the feasibility of the project and its socio-economic and environmental potential.
In 2021, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) wrote that Morocco was the “country of origin” of hashish the most cited in the world during the period 2015 – 2019.
Three regions have been authorized to cultivate and produce cannabis; the provinces of Al Hoceima, Chefchaouen, and Taounat. These three provinces form what Morocco calls the “green triangle,” a geographical area where most of the cultivation of cannabis is concentrated in Morocco.
“The therapeutic use of cannabis has already been authorized throughout northern Morocco since June. We are talking about the outright legalization of cannabis production for foreign investors,” commented a Moroccan internet user.
In the future, the government will have the opportunity to add other regions based on the demand from domestic and international investors.
