Morocco is a step closer to legalising the medical use of cannabis after its lower house of parliament approved the bill No. 13-21 by 119 votes to 48, reports Macau Business News.

Morocco is one of the world’s biggest producers of hashish with an estimated 700 tonnes produced in 2020, according to a study by the Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime. The new law aims to turn illicit growing into “legal, sustainable activities that generate value and jobs,” according to Macau Business News.
Cannabis has been banned in the country since 1954 but its cultivation has been tolerated since around 60,000 families rely on it as a livelihood. By implementing the new law, farmers’ living conditions would improve greatly and would protect them from illegal drug trafficking networks. According to Macau Business News, making cannabis legal for medicinal purposes will position Morocco in a global market that is growing at an annual rate of 30 per cent, and even by 60 per cent in Europe.
Moving forward, the upper house of parliament still needs to vote on the bill before it is ratified.