Three Provinces Selected To Cultivate Legal Cannabis In Morocco
It is no secret that Morocco is home to some of the best hash on earth. It is also no secret that a lot of that hash, and even domestic cannabis flower, is smuggled out of Morocco and transported to other countries, including and especially Spain.
Much like other countries that are well-known for cannabis, Morocco has worked in recent years to try to bring its unregulated industry into the legal arena. That is never an easy task when so much of the country’s economic structure is built around an unregulated, illegal trade.
Morocco’s emerging legal cannabis industry passed a major milestone this week when industry regulators published a list of regions that have been selected to cultivate cannabis legally. Per North Africa Post:
A new step forward in the legalization of cannabis cultivation in Morocco was made Thursday as the government adopted at its weekly meeting a decree regulating the activities related to the culture of the plant and selected three provinces, namely Al Hoceima, Chefchaouen and Taounate that will grow cannabis legally.
This decree, drafted by the Ministry of the Interior in coordination with the ministerial departments concerned, is part of the completion of the application of the law that was adopted in May 2021.
Ultimately, the text will subject all activities related to the cultivation, production, processing, transport, marketing, export and import of cannabis and its by-products to a licensing system.
Make no mistake – Morocco’s illegal cannabis industry is not going anywhere, at least not any time soon. Cannabis is cultivated all over Morocco, and people that cannot obtain a license will likely continue to go about their business as usual.
With that being said, it is still very much worth celebrating the selection of provinces for legal cultivation. It’s a major step in the right direction, and hopefully licensing will be extended to the rest of the country sooner rather than later.
Global demand for cannabis products from Morocco is significant, especially in countries where cannabis cultivation is difficult to do at an elite level. If Morocco can get its legal industry infrastructure in place and embraces the cannabis industry versus only tolerating it, it will reap enormous financial rewards in the coming years.