Morocco’s PJD Party Seeks to Delay Cannabis Legalization Bill, Calls for Impact Study

The bill on the legal use of cannabis was on the agenda of the last monthly meeting of the PJD general secretariat. On this occasion, Saâdeddine El Othmani called for "a study of the elements related to the project on the legal use of hemp for medical and industrial purposes", to open a general debate and to broaden "institutional consultations" on this subject. Furthermore, he hinted that this issue will be studied at the next meetings of the PJD general secretariat.

Does this mean that the head of government and the PJD ministers would oppose the adoption of this bill at the next meetings of the Council of Government as long as an impact study has not been carried out? The adoption of the cannabis bill has also been postponed twice.

In analysis, the statements of the former head of government Abdelilah Benkirane seem to cool the ardor of the PJD-majority government council. He threatened to leave the Party of Justice and Development (PJD) if the party’s deputies adopted the bill on the use of cannabis for medical purposes. "If the PJD general secretariat or the PJD parliamentary group votes in favor of the bill on the medical or other use of cannabis, I will definitively leave the party," he had declared.

This bill tends to shake the Lamp party, already undermined by divisions. Will Saâdeddine El Othmani block its adoption until the end of his term? The question remains open.