The king of Morocco has decided to pardon 5,000 farmers convicted of illegal cannabis cultivation, the justice ministry said in a statement on Monday.
Morocco is now a major cannabis producer and has legislated the cultivation, export and use of the drug for medicine or in industry since 2021, but it does not allow it to be used for recreational purposes. Cannabis extracts such as CBD has been found to be helpful to treat autism and epilepsy.
The latest pardon by King Mohammed VI would encourage farmers “to engage in the legal process of cannabis cultivation to improve their revenue and living conditions,” Mohammed El Guerrouj, the head of Moroccan cannabis regulator ANRAC, told Reuters.
Morocco’s first legal cannabis harvest weighed 294 metric tons back in 2023, according to officials.
This year it is expected to be higher as the number of farming permits increases officials allow farmers to cultivate a local strain called Beldia.
About a million people live in northern Morocco where cannabis is now the main economic activity. People have been growing and smoking it for generations, along with tobacco in long-stemmed pipes.
Legalization was meant to stop trafficking and improve the farmers’ income. It has awarded 54 export permits last year. Here is a great research article on the history and challenges of cannabis and medical marijuana in Morocco from 2017.
