The National Agency for the Regulation of Cannabis Activities (ANRAC) processed and granted 609 authorizations out of 1,063 requests for such activity as of the end of November.
Four hundred thirty requests were granted to farmers for the cultivation and production of cannabis, and 179 were authorized for processing activities, including 47 for industrial use, 7 for medical use, 51 for marketing, 54 for export, 17 for importing seeds, and 3 for transport.
These 179 authorizations concerned 82 operators: 7 pharmaceutical establishments, 13 cooperatives, 45 companies and 17 individuals.
ANRAC had certified some 2.1 million cannabis seeds in 2023, on the basis of 21 import authorizations granted by Morocco’s food safety watchdog (ONSSA) and registered with Customs, covering an area of 277 hectares, for 32 production cooperatives involving 416 farmers.
The cannabis production recorded in 2023 in the three regulated provinces amounted to 294 tons, with an average yield ranging from 10 to 27 Qx/Ha.
At a meeting of its Board of Directors held in December, ANRAC presented a report on its achievements in 2022, the state of technical and financial progress in 2023, and the action program for the 2024 campaign.
These Moroccan CBD-based cannabis products can be marketed in food supplements and cosmetics from 2023 at both the domestic and international levels. The activity’s relevant decrees were jointly signed in November, 2023 by the Ministries of Health and Agriculture.
Monitoring and control operations carried out by ANRAC have also shown that all cannabis-related activities undertaken by farmers and operators in 2023 comply with regulatory provisions (i.e., maintenance of regulatory registers, declared areas, THC levels, quantities delivered to operators by production cooperatives, etc.).
The cannabis industry’s regulation has sparked increased interest from farmers and investors in cannabis-related businesses, with farmers demonstrating a genuine interest in converting to the cultivation of legal cannabis.
Moroccan analytical laboratories may now test cannabis goods for THC and CBD concentration and provide certifications to farmers and operators to market cannabis and its products.
ANRAC, established under the provisions of Statute No. 13-21 on the Legal Uses of Cannabis, authorizes the implementation of the State’s strategy in the fields of cannabis cultivation, production, manufacture, processing, marketing, export, and import of its products for medical, pharmaceutical, and industrial purposes.