Moroccan king pardons almost 5,000 pot farmers for their illicit cultivation

Morocco’s first legal cannabis harvest last year yielded 294 metric tons of medical bud

Rowan Dunne

Published

August 26, 2024

Moroccan cannabis farmers that have been convicted of illegal cultivation and those wanted for their involvement received some very pleasing news last week.

Morocco’s King Mohammed VI agreed to pardon nearly 5,000 of them in a move aimed at encouraging regulated growing practices. The North African nation, world-renowned for its hash, has only permitted domestic medical marijuana agriculture since 2021.

“To engage in the legal process of cannabis cultivation to improve their revenue and living conditions,” is the goal. That is according to Mohammed El Guerrouj, a top official at the Moroccan cannabis regulator ANRAC, who recently spoke with Reuters.

The country made its first legal shipment of medical pot to Switzerland in July. This proceeded an inaugural 294-metric-ton legal harvest last year.

Thus far, Morocco has exported 225 kilograms of plant matter, according to Guerrouj.

However, despite recent cannabis regulatory framework developments, the nation’s Rif Mountains continue to be a hot spot for illicit growers. According to data from 2019, illegal cultivation supports about 100,000 Moroccan families. Moreover, Morocco is one of the world’s top producers of illicit cannabis.

King Mohammed also aims to help protect farmers from potentially dangerous drug traffickers who have historically dominated the kingdom’s cannabis trade. A recreational market is yet to be established in the country.

Applaud King Mohammed VI’s pardon of thousands of cannabis growers. Thank you for leading the way. An important step in the right direction: https://t.co/etUiz7R113

— Richard Branson (@richardbranson) August 22, 2024

Morocco supplies majority of European resin

A recent report from the European Union Drugs Agency verified this. It generally gets smuggled into the continent through Spain.

In fact, Morocco is estimated to supply about 70 per cent of Europe’s cannabis needs overall. It is the world’s top pot producing country in general, according to the United Nations. The vast majority of its cannabis crops get processed into hash.

Furthermore, cannabis is the main contributor to the local economy in the country’s north. Morocco’s market is valued at an estimated US$8 billion.

The state’s National Agency for the Regulation of Activities Relating to Cannabis (ANRAC) has issued over 2,800 new cultivation licenses this year — a dramatic increase from 2023. Only 430 were provided to local cultivators last year.