Moroccan Farmers Hope to Profit Legally From Medicinal Cannabis

In the hills of northern Morocco, vast cannabis fields are ready for harvest, but farmers complain that a government plan to market the crop, but has yet to do so. The marginalized Rif region has long been a major source of illicit hashish smuggled to Europe while Moroccan authorities, wary of social unrest, have often turned a blind eye. Growers now hope that a change in the law will help them profit legally from medicinal cannabis.

Under a law the government approved in March last year, farmers will be able to form cooperatives to grow limited amounts of cannabis for processing and sale by licensed firms.The state estimates that growers could receive some 12% of revenues from regulated cannabis production, compared to just 4% on the black market, according to state news agency MAP.