In Moroccan cannabis fields, illumination of Jewish role in country’s hash trade
Religious sources from the time reference issues related to hashish, none mention any prohibition on the consumption, or even trade, in the substance
The Times of Israel (Israel)
Tuesday, March 12, 2019
Tuesday, March 12, 2019
“The Jews in general did not grow cannabis,” explains Dr. Doron Danino, an expert on Moroccan Jewry. “But they received a monopoly from the king for the sale of tobacco in Morocco, and that included sales of the cannabis plant and the hashish produced from it.” A close examination of religious texts written by local community rabbis during the 18th and 19th centuries reveals fascinating information about the involvement of Jews in Morocco’s hashish scene. Written in the 18th century and printed in Jerusalem in the 1930s, the book “Avnei Shayish” by the chief rabbi of Sefrou, Rabbi Shaul Abitbul, details the annual licensing fee Jewish hashish merchants were forced to pay the king each year — 24,000 Spanish rials.
