The agency charged with regulating Morocco’s medicinal cannabis industry met for the first time this week as the country moves forward with plans to legalise medical use.
Last year, the Moroccan government approved a bill to legalise non-recreational use and take advantage of growing international demand for the plant, with a national agency overseeing the process.
It will control all stages of the production chain, including the importing of seeds and marketing, and oversee domestic and international licensing as well as the establishment of local farmer co-ops.
Chaired by interior minister Abdelouafi Laftit, the National Agency for the Regulation of Cannabis Activities approved its org chart and budget for 2022 on Thursday. Full legalisation of medicinal use is subject to a few remaining technicalities.
According to the United Nations, Morocco — where recreational use remains illegal — is the world’s biggest producer of cannabis resin.