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Morocco adopted a bill authorizing the "medical, cosmetic and industrial" use of cannabis, paving the way for the legalization of its therapeutic use on its territory. The bill, which aims to regulate its production, is awaiting validation by Parliament.
The bill developed by the Ministry of the Interior regulates activities related to the cultivation of cannabis, its production, manufacture, transport, marketing as well as its export and import for medical and therapeutic purposes, all by being subject to authorizations exclusively issued by a specialized Agency under the name of The National Agency for the Regulation of Activities Related to Cannabis.
The cultivation of Cannabis will only be authorized in certain areas to be determined by decree. It will also be prohibited if the THC (tetrahydrocannabinol)[1] contained in the Cannabis is above the threshold which will be set by an organic law, except if its use is aimed at the manufacture of medical or pharmaceutical products.
To obtain authorizations for the cultivation and production of cannabis, the applicant must be of legal age and of Moroccan nationality. He must live in one of the douars in the provinces where the legal cultivation of cannabis will be authorized by decree.
The applicant must also be a member of a cooperative created for this purpose. Cooperatives act as intermediaries between the cannabis grower and the production, processing or export companies.
The applicant must also be the owner of a plot of land, or be authorized (by the owner) to cultivate cannabis, or obtain a certificate issued by the local administrative authorities, according to which he operates a plot of land.
As for the import and export authorizations for Cannabis, the applicant must, have a secure and supervised storage place.
Authorizations for the processing, transport and manufacture of cannabis and its derivatives are also subject to the same condition.
In addition, to obtain these authorizations, the applicant must be a company subject to Moroccan law which has qualified and sufficient material and human resources to carry out its activities. It must also comply with specifications required by the National Agency which provides, among other things, for storage conditions and environmental protection, as well as technical and transport standards.
The authorizations related to Cannabis, are valid for 10 years (renewable) and issued by the National Agency, which is a public institution responsible for following the journey of cannabis at each of its stages (production, processing, manufacturing, marketing, export and import). The aim is to ensure that it is not used in an illegal channel and that cannabis produced in an illicit setting is not introduced into this regulated process.
This institution gives the power to its agents to conduct investigations and carry out a control of documents and places
