Morocco will pass new cannabis law this year

After the failure of previous efforts, Morocco is about to open the door to medicinal cannabis production. The stage is set after "the co-ruling PJD party, the largest in parliament, has given up its opposition," according to Reuters. The PJD changed its position following a United Nations decision in December to remove marijuana from the list of the world's most dangerous drugs. The U.N. Commission on Narcotic Drugs reclassified cannabis under the 1961 Unified Convention on Narcotic Drugs under which it was categorized as a Schedule IV drug, the same classification as heroin and other more dangerous substances. The move was supported by the United States and European member states, while countries such as Russia, China, Egypt, Nigeria and Pakistan opposed the change in classification. Morocco voted for the change. It was narrowly accepted with 27:25 votes. While the change in classification didn't directly change the respective cannabis laws in UN member states, experts predicted the move in December - which came after 53 member states met in Vienna - would encourage countries to adopt the kind of action seize that were seen in Morocco this week. According to Reuters, the Moroccan bill is expected to be passed next week and aims to "improve farmers' incomes, protect them from drug traffickers who now control the cannabis trade, and gain access to the booming legal international market for the drug." receive." Reuters, which was reviewing the bill, said the bill would "have a national agency overseeing production, transportation and sales." It will still need PJD approval, but Reuters notes that cannabis "has long been tolerated" in Morocco, which "is among the top producers in the world." Reuters reports that Morocco's Interior Ministry said the country "reduced the amount of land used to grow cannabis from 134,000 hectares in 2003 to 47,000 hectares six years ago". Even so, recreational smoking will remain illegal in Morocco. The move by the Moroccan government comes almost a year after Lebanon became the first Arab country to legalize marijuana. The country's parliament looked into the matter last March, citing marijuana as a means to boost the country's sluggish economy. As in Morocco, marijuana has long been grown in Lebanon despite its illegal status, and its hash exports are ubiquitous in Europe. It became official in April last year when the Lebanese parliament overcame resistance from Islamist groups and passed a proposal that legalized cannabis cultivation. While Morocco was spurred on to action after a policy change by the United Nations, the motivation in Lebanon came from an elite advisory group. In 2018 McKinsey & Company prepared a report for the Lebanese government on a range of measures it could take to restore the country's ailing economy, including an assessment of the "economic impact of moving the illegal market in Lebanon to a regulated market." for medical use. " McKinsey did not explicitly recommend legalization, although - as Business Insider reported at the time - it "detailed the positive economic benefits."