Medical cannabis: Potential revenues of 600 million USDs by 2028
How The cannabis ecosystem could generate revenues in the range of 4 to 6.3 billion Dirhams (USD 400 to 630 million) by 2028, with a European market share of 10 to 15%. “We are fully capable of achieving this, especially with the efforts of all stakeholders”, said Mohammed El Boumahdi, President of the Moroccan Federa-tion of Pharmaceutical Industry and Innovation (FMIIP).
El Boumahdi was speak-ing at a workshop organized by professionals to take stock of the sector since the enactment in 2021 of Law 13-21 on the legal uses of cannabis. “The full body of laws is now in place, and the implementing regulations have been published”, an-nounced Mohamed El Guerrouj, CEO of the National Agency for the Regulation of Cannabis-Related Activities (ANRAC) which oversees the legal cannabis indus-try. The agency defines the national strategy, supports research, and ensures rigor-ous regulation of legal cannabis activities. “To date, three provinces – Chefchaouen, Taounat, and Al Hoceima – and 9 activities have been authorized”, added El Guerrouj, who insisted that only farmers are eligible to produce. “We’re not in the business of expanding the area planted, but rather targeting small farm-ers who were producing illegally, to move them into a regulated framework”, ex-plained the Agency’s CEO. Targeted farmers must organize themselves through cooperatives. The nine authorized activities include: nurseries in the 3 provinces concerned, marketing, transport, importing, exporting, and processing. All this must be organized within a framework that obeys four imperatives: the obligation to target pharmaceutical purposes, the contractual obligation, the compliance with specifications drawn up by ANRAC, and a monitoring system.
The stakeholders who attended the workshop recalled the fact that medical canna-bis offers a wide range of therapeutic virtues, bringing a new dimension to patient care and offering alternative and complementary solutions to conventional treat-ments. From the management of chronic pain to the improvement of neurological symptoms and the alleviation of mental disorders, medical cannabis reveals its multiple health benefits, thanks to its active components, notably CBD (cannabidi-ol), widely used in cosmetics and dietary supplements for its various virtues.
Aziza EL AFFAS
