Morocco’s King Mohammed VI has pardoned more than 4,800 people wanted or convicted of illegal cannabis cultivation. The Moroccan newspaper Le Matin and the French news agency AFP reported this on Monday evening (19 August), citing the North African country’s Ministry of Justice. The pardoned farmers had merely fulfilled the “conditions for a pardon”, the ministry explained the decision.
The Moroccan government says it wants to integrate the pardoned cannabis farmers into the new cannabis strategy. In 2021, Morocco passed a law legalizing the cultivation of cannabis for pharmaceutical, medical and industrial purposes – recreational use remains officially prohibited but is tolerated. Morocco is one of the world’s largest cannabis producers, according to the United Nations.
As of 2021, the cultivation and consumption of cannabis is legal in three disadvantaged rural provinces in the northeast of the Rif region. In this region, cannabis cultivation is the main source of income, and hashish and grass mixed with tobacco have been smoked for generations. By legalizing it, the Moroccan government hoped to improve the working conditions of growers and take the wind out of the sails of illegal drug traffickers.
