The rise to 3,371 cannabis cultivation licenses handed out in Morocco in 2024 has prompted farmers and activists to call for legalizing recreational and traditional consumption to tackle the surplus and lack of demand caused by insufficient investors in processing industries.
Farmers and activists interviewed by Hespress explained that many are struggling to sell their crops because of the scarcity of processing companies, deterring others from participating in the legalization process altogether.
The imbalance between the abundant supply and limited demand has resulted in prices plummeting to as low as 80 dirhams per kilogram, making it difficult for farmers to earn a decent income from their crops.
“In the current situation, the number of investors is very low and insufficient to meet demand, so many cannabis farmers have not sold their harvests yet because of this issue,” Farid Ahithour, president of the “Tizi Ifri Coop” cooperative in the Rif region of Al-Hoceima.
He added that around 50% of cannabis farmers have yet to join the regulatory process, hoping that it will eventually include the legalization of recreational and traditional consumption.
He said that increasing numbers of farmers involved in regulated cannabis cultivation would exacerbate the challenge of finding enough investors to absorb the produce.
He noted that the current number of investors is too low to meet the demand, and as a result, many farmers have yet to sell their harvests.
He also mentioned that approximately 50% of cannabis farmers have not yet joined the regulation process, hoping that future developments will include the legalization of recreational and traditional consumption.
Ahithour stressed that even if 700 investors were involved in processing cannabis into medical and nutritional products, they would not be able to purchase the entire harvest of Morocco’s vast cannabis-growing regions.
He highlighted that the oversupply, combined with the lack of investors, keeps prices low, sometimes as low as 80 dirhams per kilogram, which does not provide a sustainable income for farmers.
He further argued that legalizing recreational cannabis consumption would resolve these issues and help boost farmers’ incomes. With Morocco preparing to host the World Cup, Ahithour suggested that the government should consider where visitors from Africa, Europe, and Latin America will consume cannabis, given the lack of licensed spaces for such activities.
President of the Moroccan Observatory for Cannabis Regulation, Charif Adraddak, echoed these concerns, arguing that the growing number of licensed cannabis farmers necessitates expanding legal avenues for marketing their crops.
He pointed out that the current lack of Moroccan manufacturing companies for cannabis-derived medical and industrial products means farmers remain dependent on a limited number of buyers.
He suggested that legalizing both recreational and traditional cannabis consumption would reduce farmers’ reliance on these companies.
Adraddak also recalled that under Law No. 13.21, which regulates cannabis use, cooperatives must sign contracts with companies that will buy and process their crops, a requirement that has deterred many farmers from joining the regulated market.
He emphasized that legalizing recreational and traditional consumption could encourage more farmers to participate and address some of the issues they face with investors.
He also pointed to Morocco’s informal tradition of cannabis cafes in the northern cities and questioned why this practice couldn’t be formalized and regulated, similar to cannabis cafes in the Netherlands and cannabis clubs in Spain.
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