Morocco: examination of cannabis bills postponed

A few days after the announcement by Larbi El Mharchi, a member of the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) from the review of two bills on cannabis, that same member of parliament submitted a request to postpone the introduction of the bill regarding a general amnesty for cannabis farmers and the legalization of cultivation.

The postponement was requested a few hours before the bill was to be presented to the Senate’s Justice and Legislation Committee, pending the introduction of another bill in a different committee—the Agriculture Committee.

The announcement of a possible review of proposals for cannabis law had forced the government to address the issue. A source A government spokesperson denied any intention to legalize it and stated that the issue was not even a priority for the executive branch. Furthermore, the Moroccan government reportedly did not agree to schedule a debate on the two bills introduced by the PAM.

According to the same source, the Minister of Justice’s attendance at the Legislation Committee’s proceedings in the House of Representatives was intended solely to express the government’s position on the proposed law granting a general amnesty to individuals prosecuted or detained for growing cannabis.

As for the bill on the decriminalization of cannabis cultivation, it has been referred to the Committee on Productive Sectors of the House of Representatives, the equivalent of the French National Assembly. The government source also ruled out any possibility of the current Moroccan government taking a positive stance on the two bills.

A similar bill, introduced by the Istiqlal Party in 2013, has yet to receive a response from the government.