leafie
  • Articles
  • News
  • Culture
  • CBD Guide
  • Product Reviews
  • CBD FAQs
  • Contact us
  • Complaints
  • Privacy policy
  • Disclaimer
  • Advertising
  • Work With Us
453 Likes
2K Followers
618 Followers
leafie
leafie
  • Articles
  • News
  • Culture
  • CBD Guide
  • Product Reviews
  • CBD FAQs
  • News

Morocco to legalise the cultivation of medicinal cannabis

  • Kevin Dinneen
  • February 25, 2021
  • 2 minute read
View of cannabis plantations in the northern Morocco

The government of Morocco announced on Thursday 25th February that it plans to allow the farming, export and domestic sale of cannabis for medicinal and industrial use.

Acceptance for cannabis production from the Moroccan public has been growing for some time, but previous attempts at cannabis law reform have so far failed, reported Reuters. The proposed new laws will be used to help develop the Rif mountains region, fight illicit trafficking and help poverty-stricken farmers by exploiting the ever-growing global demand for cannabis. The move is something that groups such as Maroc Cannabis 2016 have been calling for many years; Morocco World News reported in June 2016 that the movement Maroc Cannabis 2016 were calling on the north African country’s government to legalise cannabis production and make it a taxable industry by the end of that year.

The bill will include legislation to protect the farmers’ incomes and is expected to be approved next week. The co-ruling party, PJD, which is Morocco’s largest party in parliament, changed its stance on cannabis after the UN drug agency reclassified it as a “less-dangerous drug”.

Cannabis history in Morocco goes back a long way, although the date it arrived is debated, it is believed to be during the Arab Conquests somewhere between the seventh to fifteenth centuries. It was grown throughout the country for local use until the eighteenth century, after which the Rif mountains in the north became noted internationally as a centre of production, especially for hashish. However, rules were gradually tightened until 1956 when King Mohammed V banned cannabis nationwide.

Despite prohibition at home and in most of the world, Morocco remained one of the world’s leading producers and exporters of hashish. This was buoyed in the 1960s and 1970s by the newly established tourism trade to the region, which brought an influx of young western tourists eager to sample the culture and traditions that Morocco had to offer. During this time the majority of the hashish consumed in Europe was exported from a variety of countries including India (Kashmir region), Afghanistan and Lebanon. A plethora of armed conflicts greatly destabilised these areas and ensured that by the 1990’s Moroccan “soap bar” was the most widely consumed hashish in Europe.

Today there are estimated to be around 48,000 farmers who work in the cannabis industry in the Rif mountains alone, and it is these workers that the new bill is supposed to help the most once it is passed through parliament.  



Total
93
Shares
Share 93
Tweet 0
Share 0
Share 0
Share 0
Share 0
Kevin Dinneen
Kevin Dinneen

Kevin is leafie's cofounder and head of the news desk. He is passionate about cannabis, the countryside and fish and chips.

Previous Article
cbd capsules on a blue background
  • News

NHS could use cannabis in fight against ‘Super Gonorrhoea’

  • Kevin Dinneen
  • February 25, 2021
Read Story
Next Article
Black the Ripper in front of street art
  • Culture

From Jimi Hendrix to Black the Ripper: 10 of the best musical odes to cannabis

  • Sam Davies
  • February 26, 2021
Read Story
You May Also Like
young black men being stopped and searched by police in london
Read Story
  • News

‘Decriminalise cannabis’ government race report recommends

  • Kevin Dinneen
  • April 1, 2021
dmt stroke
Read Story
  • News

Stroke patients to be given DMT in revolutionary new study

  • Kevin Dinneen
  • February 9, 2021
keir starmer sophy ridge interview
Read Story
  • News

Sir Keir Starmer rules out relaxing cannabis laws

  • Kevin Dinneen
  • February 22, 2021
Read Story
  • News

Home Office now requires a Schedule One Controlled Drug License for CBD imports

  • Lotte Evans
  • February 2, 2021
Valletta, Malta at Dusk
Read Story
  • News

Malta set to decriminalise cannabis, Prime Minister announces

  • Liam O'Dowd
  • February 18, 2021
swiss flag
Read Story
  • News

Switzerland to trial legal cannabis market

  • Liam O'Dowd
  • April 14, 2021
nate diaz smoking cannabis in a UFC arena
Read Story
  • News

UFC drops cannabis from its anti-doping policy

  • leafie News Desk
  • January 15, 2021
Read Story
  • News

Call for Scotland to adopt a regulated cannabis market

  • Lotte Evans
  • January 20, 2021
cbd capsules on a blue background
Read Story
  • News

NHS could use cannabis in fight against ‘Super Gonorrhoea’

  • Kevin Dinneen
  • February 25, 2021
Latest News
  • psilocybin mushroom in human hand close-up 1
    Psilocybin found to perform ‘just as well’ as conventional antidepressants
    • April 15, 2021
  • swiss flag 2
    Switzerland to trial legal cannabis market
    • April 14, 2021
  • 3
    52% of Britons support the legalisation of cannabis in the UK
    • April 6, 2021
  • Sadiq Khan Mayor of London 4
    Mayor of London ‘could legalise cannabis’ if re-elected
    • April 6, 2021
  • young black men being stopped and searched by police in london 5
    ‘Decriminalise cannabis’ government race report recommends
    • April 1, 2021
ADVERTISMENT
Popular Articles
  • cannabis being weighed in a shop
    Could Coronavirus lead to legal cannabis in the UK?
    • April 21, 2020
  • indoor legal cannabis farm
    The Great British cannabis con
    • July 9, 2020
  • selection of cannabis in a dispensary
    5 ways the UK could legalise cannabis
    • July 2, 2020
ADVERTISMENT

Sign up to our newsletter to get the best CBD and cannabis articles in your inbox once a week


impress logo
leafie is a ≠ publication
© doesnotequal 2021. All rights reserved

Input your search keywords and press Enter.