Morocco's first legal cannabis harvest was 294 metric tons in 2023, after the country approved its cultivation and export for medicine and industrial uses, cannabis regulator ANRAC said.
This year, the regulator is examining applications by 1,500 farmers who organized themselves into 130 cooperatives © Mena Today
Morocco's first legal cannabis harvest was 294 metric tons in 2023, after the country approved its cultivation and export for medicine and industrial uses, cannabis regulator ANRAC said.
The harvest was made by 32 cooperatives that brought together 430 farmers covering 277 hectares in the northern Rif mountain areas of Al Houceima, Taounat and Chefchaouen, ANRAC said in an email to Reuters.
The United Nations drugs agency says about 47,000 hectares of the Rif are devoted to cannabis output, roughly a third of the amount in 2003 after government crackdowns.
This year, the regulator is examining applications by 1,500 farmers who organised themselves into 130 cooperatives, ANRAC said.
Cultivation of the local drought-enduring landrace, known as Beldia, began this month, it said.
Although Morocco is a major cannabis producer, officially cannabis use for recreational purposes is illegal. In practice, it is tolerated.
Nearly a million people live in areas of northern Morocco where cannabis is the main economic activity. It has been publicly grown and smoked there for generations, mixed with tobacco in traditional long-stemmed pipes with clay bowls.
The legalisation was intended to improve farmers' incomes and protect them from drug traffickers who dominate the cannabis trade and export it illegally.
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, ANRAC said.
Morocco is also seeking to tap into a growing global market for legal cannabis, and awarded 54 export permits last year.
Reporting by Ahmed Eljechtimi
Germany pledged a further 20 million euros ($23.6 million) to Sudan this year, the development ministry said on Wednesday, ahead of an international aid conference hosted in Berlin that is aiming to gather more than $1 billion in funding commitments.
Two arms brokers arranged illegal deals to supply ex-Soviet surface-to-air missile systems to South Sudan and fighter jets to Libya during its civil war, British prosecutors told a London court on Tuesday.
Pope Leo paid homage to his spiritual roots on Tuesday, travelling to the ancient birthplace in Algeria of St. Augustine of Hippo, who inspired him to become a priest.
To make this website run properly and to improve your experience, we use cookies. For more detailed information, please check our Cookie Policy.
Necessary cookies enable core functionality. The website cannot function properly without these cookies, and can only be disabled by changing your browser preferences.