Roadmap of Moroccan Agency for the Regulation of Cannabis Cultivation
The National Agency for the Regulation of Cannabis Activities has unveiled, during its first meeting chaired by the Minister of the Interior, its roadmap to develop the industry of this plant for legal purposes.

During the meeting held this week in Rabat, the Interior Minister Abdelouafi Laftit expounded the state’s strategy for the regulation of cannabis, from its cultivation to its export, including its processing, saying that the implementation of this strategy has started and that it aims to lift approximately 600,000 people out of poverty and marginalization in the regions that used to produce the substance illegally.

The agenda of this first meeting of the National Agency for the Regulation of Cannabis Activities (ANRAC) included several items, including the approval of the Agency’s organization chart and the status of its staff, as well as the definition of its budget for the year 2022. The importation of cannabis products for medical, pharmaceutical and industrial purposes was also on the agenda.

The Ministry of the Interior said in a press release that this meeting took place in application of the provisions of Law 13-21 relating to the legal uses of cannabis. As a result, ANRAC is responsible for regulating, monitoring and controlling all operations relating to cannabis, as well as its legal use in accordance with the Kingdom’s international commitments.

The Agency is also in charge of organizing and developing the different stages of this activity from the production of the seeds to the marketing of the finished product. Besides, the Agency will support research with the aim of developing the use of cannabis in the medical, cosmetic and industrial fields, while simplifying administrative procedures in coordination with the administrative authorities concerned.

ANRAC’s action plan covers several areas, including approval of the technical characteristics relating to the activities of cultivation, production, processing and industrialization of cannabis. It also covers the exploitation of cannabis seeds and plants, the marketing, exportation and importation of these products for industrial purposes.

In parallel, the Agency will launch the procedures for issuing authorizations to national and international operators in the medical and industrial cannabis industry, as well as to growers and seed companies.

Likewise, it will supervise the creation of cooperatives by local farmers to process and manufacture local products. The membership of farmers in cooperatives will allow them to benefit from support, advice and training.

ANRAC will seek to develop the circuits of medical and industrial use of cannabis and seize the opportunities offered by this market to attract international operators and to support investment in the processing and industrialization of products extracted from cannabis.

The regulation of cannabis cultivation aims, in its social component, to develop legal channels to gradually convert traditional farmers engaged in illicit crops to legal activities that are environmentally friendly and generating decent incomes.

As for the farmers who will not be able to join the legal cannabis program for reasons related to the size of the market at the beginning, the ANRAC will help them, in coordination with the departments and institutions concerned, develop alternative crops or non-agricultural activities, the aim being to put an end to illicit cannabis cultivation.

Besides, the measures on the regulation, monitoring and supervision of the entire cannabis chain will help to dry up the sources of mafia networks that feed drug addiction market.

Morocco aims to design and implement an integrated strategy for economic, social and environmental development in cannabis growing areas.

Al Hoceima, Chefchaouen and Taounate are the provinces authorized so far to produce and exploit cannabis. Other provinces may be added to the list depending on the interest shown by national and international investors in activities related to the cannabis production chain.