Morocco’s Cannabis Farmers Eye Legal Market as Medical Use Bill Advances

For Mohamed Morabet, a producer in Kétama, quoted by AFP, with the new legislation, he will be able to practice his profession openly. "We are obviously satisfied with the new legislation. This will allow us to finally come out of the shadows, to be proud of our work when we can bring the inhabitants together in cooperatives. Before that, we will still have to convince the most reluctant," explains this producer who nevertheless expresses his fear about the selling price of the product. He thinks that the farmers will be the big losers if the selling prices are low.

However, Morabet says he is aware that the cultivation of cannabis for medical purposes can become a lucrative business and propel the Kingdom to the top of the world cannabis market. He suggests building factories to offer decent jobs to young people and residents of the so-called historical cannabis growing areas, notably Béni Sdet, Ketama and Béni Khaled.

The world’s leading producer of cannabis resin, Morocco produced 700 tons in 2020 according to the 2020 report of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Three-quarters of this production would feed the traffickers’ networks.