The National Agency for the Regulation of Cannabis Activities (ANRAC) has issued a total of 3,029 licenses under Morocco’s Law 13-21 on the legal uses of cannabis since the beginning of 2024, a significant increase from the 721 licenses granted in 2023.
According to ANRAC’s data, 2,837 of these licenses were awarded to 2,659 farmers for the cultivation and production of cannabis, compared to 430 licenses in 2023. Additionally, 192 licenses were granted to 98 operators, down from 291 licenses to 138 operators in the previous year.
The 192 licenses for operators cover a range of activities: 60 for cannabis processing, 49 for commercialization, 39 for exportation, 24 for seed importation, 18 for transportation, 1 for seed exportation, and 1 for the creation and operation of nurseries.
The 98 licensed operators are comprised of 23 cooperatives, 51 companies, and 24 individuals.
Since the start of 2024, ANRAC has certified 7.3 million cannabis seeds, based on 26 import licenses issued by the National Office of Food Safety (ONSSA), covering an area of 1,164 hectares for 100 production cooperatives, representing 1,520 farmers.
ANRAC has also authorized the use of 1,634 quintals of local cannabis seeds, specifically the Beldia variety, on 1,916 hectares of land. This authorization, based on 106 licenses issued by ONSSA, benefits 106 cooperatives involving 1,816 farmers.
The decision to allow the cultivation of the Beldia variety in 2024 follows promising results from a study conducted in collaboration with the National Institute of Agronomic Research (INRA) to characterize this traditional Moroccan strain. ANRAC, in consultation with ONSSA, has established a stringent protocol to regulate the use of this variety in compliance with regulatory standards.
The protocol includes several conditions: the cooperative president must submit a formal request to use Beldia seeds, the cooperative must maintain a traceability register, and operators must commit to purchasing the entire production from farmers authorized by ANRAC. Furthermore, operators are required to enter into a contract with a pharmaceutical company to sell all plant extracts with a THC content of 1% or higher, as stipulated by Law 13-21.
If the pharmaceutical company fails to uphold the contract, the operator must destroy all extracts with a THC content of 1% or more after processing, leaving only those with a THC content below 1%. Additionally, operators must provide ANRAC with analysis results from a recognized laboratory confirming that the THC content in the processed production is below 1%.
