Cannabis legalization: Things are getting serious

The legalization of cannabis for medicinal use is taking a new step. After the adoption of the law by Parliament last year and the determination of the three zones authorized to produce this crop, the site is entering the final straight line of its operationalization. Indeed, the National Agency for the Regulation of Cannabis-related Activities held its first board meeting last week under the chairmanship of the Minister of the Interior.

Abdelouafi Laftit was accompanied by several of his col­leagues including Nadia Fettah in charge of Finance, Mohamed Sadiki of Agriculture, and Riad Mezzour of Trade and Industry. Also part of the board are representatives of other departments as well as the directors of ONSSA (Food Safety Agency) and AMDIE (Moroccan Agency for the Development of Investments and Exports). For now, the CEO of the Agency is not yet known. Given that this Agency is on the list of strategic establishments, the appointment of its boss will be deliberated during a Council of Ministers meeting, chaired by the King.

The Agency’s action plan for this year includes several components. One involves the adoption of specifica­tions which set the technical criteria relating to the cultivation, produc­tion, processing and industrialization of cannabis, as well as its seeds and plants. This extends to the marketing, export and import of these products for industrial purposes. It is also a question of starting the procedures for granting authorizations to Moroc­can and international operators in the medical and industrial cannabis in­dustry, to seed companies, nurseries, and transport companies. Ditto for the creation of the first cooperatives for the processing and industrialization of local products whose members are lo­cal farmers. The new regulations give farmers the power to negotiate with industrialists, a power that farmers did not have when they were in front of a trafficker. In any case, several national and foreign investors are rubbing their hands at the idea of embarking on this adventure.

The Agency is a public institution, endowed with legal personality and financial autonomy, which ensures the implementation of the Government’s strategy in the field of culture, produc­tion, manufacturing, processing, mar­keting, export of cannabis, and import of its byproducts for medical, pharma­ceutical, and industrial purposes. The Agency is responsible for granting, renewing, or withdrawing authoriza­tions. It is responsible for maintaining the state of cannabis stocks, the labe­ling, and the packaging of products, as well as for supervising advisory services for the public sector and for the professionals concerned.  

Mohamed CHAOUI