Morocco is a step closer to legalising the medical use of cannabis after the government ratified a draft law.
But the government on Thursday upheld a ban on its recreational use and the draft law for medical use still needs parliament approval.
The move would “reconvert illicit” cannabis plantations into “legal and durable activities that generate jobs”, according to the text of the draft legislation.
According to a report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) last year, the North African country is the world’s biggest producer of cannabis resin or hashish.
Morocco’s production of cannabis was estimated at more than 700 tonnes in a 2020 study by the Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime.