Moroccos' Huge Legal Cannabis Harvest
Morocco's first lawful cannabis harvest has weighed in at a total of 294 metric tons for 2023 after the country approved the cultivation and export of cannabis for medicinal and industrial use.
The harvest was accumulated via 32 cooperatives made up of 430 farmers and covering a total of 277 hectares in the northern Rif mountain regions of Al Houceima, Taounat and Chefchaouen.
The United Nations drugs agency states that around 47,000 hectares of the Rif are committed to cannabis cultivation, approximately a third of the amount in 2003 following government crackdowns.
In 2024 applications by 1,500 farmers will be reviewed of farmers who arranged themselves into 130 cooperatives. Cultivation and farming of the regional drought-hardy landrace strain, known as Beldia, has begun this month in March, it said.
Although Morocco is a significant cannabis producer, cannabis use for recreational purposes is still officially illegal, however in practice, it is widely tolerated.
Is Cannabis Legal in Morocco?
Almost a million people live in provinces of northern Morocco where cannabis is the primary source of economic income. It has been grown publicly and smoked in the country for generations, typically being blended with tobacco and set in traditional pipes with long stems and clay bowls.
The legalisation was planned to enhance farmers’ incomes whilst protecting them from the drug traffickers who monopolise the cannabis trade and ship it illegally.
This far, two lawful cannabis transformation units have been functioning and two others are in the process of waiting for equipment. Additionally, 15 cannabis products are in the review process for approval for medicinal use. Morocco is also striving to get involved in the evolving global cannabis market and was granted 54 export permits last year.
It comes at the same time that Germany joins the growing group of countries and regions that have now legalised cannabis.
In February The Bundestag enacted a law that permits individuals and volunteer organisations to grow and carry restricted amounts of cannabis. This makes Germany the ninth country to legalise the recreational use of cannabis, something which is also legal in some states in America.
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Liz Filmer
