Morocco Delays Cannabis Legalization Bill Amid Political Tensions

At the initiative of the Minister of the Interior, the bill relating to the lawful uses of cannabis is struggling to materialize. This item on the agenda was postponed by the Executive. Its legalization is not unanimous within the Party of Justice and Development (PJD) either. Leaders of this party have expressed their disagreement with the adoption by the government of a bill proposed by opposition parties, reports Al Massae.

Angry at this decision, the former Secretary General of the PJD, Abdelilah Benkirane, had threatened to freeze his membership in the party if the PJD general secretariat validates the project. He also plans to resign from the party if the PJD parliamentarians vote for this bill.

For several years, however, voices had pleaded for the legalization of cannabis cultivation for medical and therapeutic purposes. In doing so, Morocco could comply with the evolution of the international situation, especially after the recommendation of the World Health Organization (WHO) to reclassify cannabis and its declassification by the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) in Annex IV of the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, as amended by the 1972 Protocol.