Morocco: plan to legalize medical cannabis adopted

The bill n°13.21 on the legal use of cannabis was adopted by a majority in the Moroccan House of Representatives this Tuesday on second reading, by 61 votes to 25, all from the PJD.

The next step will be publication of the draft organic law in the Bulletin Officiel.

Last week, the House of Councillors gave the green light to El Othmani's initiative. The Lower House had approved the bill on first reading on May 26, with 119 votes in favor, 48 against and no abstentions. Unsurprisingly, Islamist parliamentarians had voted against the text in both constitutional institutions.

A global cannabis project

During the presentation of the bill to the Chamber of Councillors, Abdelouafi Laftit was keen to point out that this text opens up development prospects for the benefit of the population in areas affected by illicit cannabis cultivation, all the more so as the international community is today increasingly aware that the purely repressive approach adopted by the global drug control system has limited alternative development programs and failed to resolve the economic, social and environmental problems encountered by the countries producing this plant, particularly those in the South.

He also pointed out that the Moroccan Ministry of the Interior had carried out field studies demonstrating the catastrophic effects of illicit cannabis cultivation on the health of citizens and soil pollution due to deforestation and overexploitation of the water table. Referring to the positive impact of the bill on the national economy in general and local development in particular, the Minister stated that these studies revealed that the Morocco had strong potential enabling it to position itself on the global markets for this plant, which are experiencing significant growth rates.

Drafted in line with the Kingdom's international commitments, Bill 13.21 aims to subject all activities relating to the cultivation, production, processing, transport, marketing, export and import of medical cannabis, hemp and their products to a system of authorizations and licenses, favoring local players.