While the market for therapeutic cannabis is developing at breakneck speed worldwide, Morocco has removed restrictions on the cultivation of the plant to encourage its production for medical and industrial purposes. Enough to offer local growers great prospects for the future. However, its recreational use is still prohibited.
As Le Monde points out, “the Moroccan Legal Cannabis Regulatory Agency held its first meeting in Rabat on Thursday, June 2, the last step before the implementation of a law legalizing the therapeutic use of this plant grown on a large scale. in the northeast of the country. Morocco, the world’s leading producer of cannabis resin according to the UN, adopted a law in 2021 authorizing the legal uses of medical, cosmetic, and industrial cannabis under the control of a national agency created for this purpose.
For its part, Courrier International adds that “this opening will probably result in the installation of industrial units near the hemp fields. Discussions between the Ministry of the Interior and the stakeholders are already underway, pending the birth of the first concrete project.
A market estimated between 4.2 and 6.3 billion dollars by 2028
In addition to job creation, the Ministry of the Interior estimates that the export revenues generated by the legal kif market would fluctuate between 4.2 and 6.3 billion dollars by 2028. A juicy market that he states would like to see the peasants, who are often the weak link in the illicit trade, benefit as well. Traditionally, peasants reselling resin to traffickers obtained only 4% of the turnover made by the clandestine sector. The government hopes (therefore) to increase this rate to 12% by putting the balance of power and the bargaining power on the side of local farmers. Morocco intends (thus) to liberate them from the grip of traffickers and mafia networks”.
