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Morocco, a country where large volumes of cannabis are cultivated illicitly, is considering legalizing the production for therapeutic purposes of the drug, the government said Thursday.
The government has “started to study a bill relating to the legal use of cannabis,” he said in a statement.
The draft text, seen by AFP, envisages the creation of a “national agency for the regulation of activities linked to cannabis”.
The agency will have the mandate to develop an agricultural and industrial framework in the regions which will be authorized to produce the harvest, indicates the bill.
The cultivation, sale and consumption of cannabis is currently strictly prohibited.
But the use is widely tolerated in the north, where the livelihoods of 90,000 to 140,000 people are estimated to depend on illicit production.
Current cannabis production in Morocco is estimated at over 700 tonnes, in a 2020 study by the Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime.
The legally produced quantities must not exceed the volume “required for production of a medical, pharmaceutical and industrial nature”, adds the bill.
Producers should be part of agricultural cooperatives and supply only authorized companies, he predicts.
The legalization of the therapeutic use of cannabis will position Morocco in a global market that is growing at an annual rate of 30% and 60% in Europe, according to a note from the Ministry of the Interior.
The laws and regulations will also improve the living conditions of farmers and protect them from “drug trafficking networks,” the note added.
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