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. 

Morocco’s House of Representatives adopted today Bill 13.21 on the legal use of cannabisfor medical purposes. The bill received a majority of votes (199) against 48 votes, who  voted no. The Justice and Development Party (PJD) was the only party of the government majority who rejected the bill. Morocco’s government first adopted bill 13-21 on March 11. The decision to adopt the bill made Morocco the first African country to allow the use of cannabis for therapeutic purposes. The Ministry of Interior said in a statement the bill will benefit farmers by raising their incomes. The bill is expected to create “promising and stable job opportunities,” it argued.

After Morocco’s historic “yes” vote on cannabis at the UN last Thursday, the path towards legal cannabis has widened. However, obstacles still exist. Morocco supported declassifying cannabis from Schedule 4, which contains the most dangerous drugs deemed to have no medical use. Morocco’s vote recognized the medicinal value of cannabis, a move that many saw as evidence Morocco could be on a path to legalization. In the midst of an economic crisis driven by the COVID-19 pandemic, Morocco could see cannabis as a way to boost tax revenue and stimulate the hard-hit tourism sector. Producers in Morocco illegally export roughly $8.8 billion of the cash crop annually, according to BBC estimates.

A majority of French are in favour of legalising cannabis for recreational use, according to a recent parliamentary survey. The survey, involving a quarter of a million people, carried out last month by a parliamentary fact-finding mission, showed that more than 80 percent agree that consumption and production should be allowed, governed by law. Only 14 percent believe it should be decriminalised, while nearly five percent believe sanctions against it should be strengthened, but less than one percent believe that France should keep the legal framework the way it is now. “We now know that the legalisation of cannabis is no longer a taboo in France and that our fellow citizens are observing the ineffectiveness of the current legislation in the matter,” said LREM MP Caroline Janvier in a statement.

A recent study has found that a majority of Jamaica’s population may be in support of relaxing the laws prohibiting the use of marijuana. The study, which was conducted by pollster Don Anderson, reveals that 55 per cent of those interviewed felt that the laws criminalising marijuana should be relaxed. Anderson notes that 55 per cent of respondents also believe that marijuana should be commercialised. (See also: Ganja Medicine: Local doctors approve patients' use of marijuana)

Between 78% and 91% of marijuana grown in the Netherlands is exported, according to new justice ministry research. This makes it pointless to regulate marijuana production for sale in licenced cannabis cafes within the Netherlands because illegal growing will continue, Justice minister Opstelten said in a briefing to Parliament. (See for a critical view: The 80% myth revisited)

Most St Lucians are either in support of the legalisation or partial decriminalisation of marijuana according to a poll conducted by the Barbados-based Caribbean Development Research Services (CADRES). CADRES said that it conducted the poll from September 8-11, and interviewed approximately 1,000 people across the island. According to CADRES, which also conducted similar polls in several Caribbean islands including Barbados and St Vincent and the Grenadines, the results of the surveys tell an important story that is likely to be applicable across the region, which is that public opinion is generally moving in the direction of greater support for decriminalisation and an increasing opposition to the status quo.

Since 2012, 19 states, Washington, D.C., and Guam have legalized marijuana for recreational use — something 55% of Texans have said they either support or strongly support, according to a new Dallas Morning News-University of Texas at Tyler poll. And the numbers are even higher for medical use: 72% of those surveyed said they would either support or strongly support the legalization of marijuana to help treat illnesses, a move the Texas Legislature helped bolster last year when it expanded the state’s medical marijuana program to include all forms of post-traumatic stress disorder and cancer. After a May survey with similar results, Gov. Greg Abbott said his position on legalization has not changed beyond what he’s proposed in the past — reducing the criminal penalty for possession to a Class C misdemeanor, but not legalizing the drug.

The legalisation of recreational cannabis is “possible” in France, and the country should hold a public consultation or referendum on its use, the head of a parliamentary commission on the subject has said. The suggestion was made by Jean-Baptiste Moreau, MP for Creuse and the head of a parliamentary commission on the use of recreational cannabis. On Sunday February 28, he said: “We will make proposals within a month." He said that “decriminalisation would not be enough” and that the government would need to establish a system of “checks on the quality of products and the price of products sold”. Asked if he believed that the legalisation of recreational cannabis would be politically possible in France, the MP said: “I think so.”