Morocco approves law for the therapeutic use of cannabis
The Moroccan Parliament's House of Representatives approved the industrial and therapeutic use of cannabis on Tuesday by a vote of 61 to 21. The initiative, which originated in February from the Ministry of the Interior, fully aligned with the directives of the Royal Palace, was approved in just four months. It faced opposition from the Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD), the largest party in Parliament.
Authorities in the world's largest cannabis producer are keen to capitalize on what they consider a major opportunity in the global therapeutic cannabis market. Feasibility studies previously presented by the Ministry of the Interior project annual growth of 301% globally and 601% in Europe.
Interior Minister Abdeluafi Laftit warned members of Parliament on April 29: “The goal is to move quickly, because we are already behind schedule.” Once this bill, known as 13-21, is published in the Official State Gazette, This measure, which will be processed shortly, will see Morocco join countries such as Canada—which permitted medicinal use in 2001—, the United States—where therapeutic use is legal in 33 of its 50 states—, Germany—where it has been available with a prescription since 2017—, and Portugal, where it has been available in pharmacies since 2018. In Spain, the Congress of Deputies has just taken a first step towards considering the possible regulation of cannabis use for certain medicinal purposes, with the recent creation of a subcommittee that has committed to drafting a proposal on the matter within six months.
Moroccan authorities estimate that some 400,000 Moroccans from 60,000 families depend on this plant, which is cultivated primarily in the north of the country. Most of the cultivated land, 801% of the total, barely exceeds one hectare, roughly the size of a football field. Currently, the primary beneficiaries of the illicit hashish trade in Morocco are unknown. Officials at the Ministry of the Interior hope that legal cultivation will gradually remove the population from the control of traffickers.
The Ministry of the Interior calculated in its feasibility study that the international export of Moroccan therapeutic cannabis will target the European market, particularly Spain, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and Germany. They anticipate a significant business volume on the continent, estimated at €20.8 billion by 2028.
However, some experts are skeptical about the profitability of the business. These experts believe that there is a lot of competition in Europe, that the European market for therapeutic cannabis is currently limited to Portugal, Germany, and the United Kingdom, and that major pharmaceutical companies, such as GSK and Pfizer, have not yet ventured into producing cannabis-derived medicines.