Morocco has celebrated its first legal cannabis harvest at 294 metric tons after its cultivation and export for medicinal and industrial use was approved, reports the Independent.

During 2023, 32 cooperatives brought together 430 farmers with 277 hectares of land to achieve the harvest in northern Rif mountain areas of Al Houceima, Taounat and Chefchaouen.
According to the Independent, the United Nations drugs agency says about 47,000 hectares of the Rif are devoted to cannabis output, and for this year, the regulator is examining applications by 1,500 farmers who organised themselves into 130 cooperatives.
Although Morocco is a significant cannabis producer, the use of the drug for recreational purposes remains illegal in the country, however, it is tolerated.
In the northern regions of Morocco, close to a million individuals depend on cannabis as the primary source of income. For many generations, the plant has been cultivated and consumed openly, often blended with tobacco and smoked in the region’s iconic long-stemmed pipes featuring clay bowls. The legalization of cannabis aims to boost the income of local farmers and provide them with legal protection against the illicit drug traffickers who currently control the cannabis market and oversee its illegal exportation.
So far, two legal cannabis transformation units have been operating and two others are waiting for equipment, while 15 cannabis products are in the process of being authorised for medicinal use, reports the Independent. Moreover, Morocco is positioning itself to enter the burgeoning international market for legally produced cannabis, having issued 54 permits for exportation in the previous year.