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Rabat – During a meeting with the National Commission on Narcotic Drugs on Wednesday, Moroccan health minister Anas Doukkali said that addiction treatment units are operating in several rehabilitation centers in the nine cities of Casablanca, Rabat, Tangier, Tetouan, Marrakech, Oujda, Agadir, Fez, and Meknes.
The centers have treated 27,620 drug addicts and given methadone maintenance treatment to 1,629 others dependent on heroin. The health minister did not relate the period of time in which the centers treated the individuals, but the National Program to Fight Drug Addiction was launched in 2010.
There are 15 outpatient clinics for addiction treatment across the nine cities, where people addicted to various drugs can receive care, according to Doukkali.
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The centers also work to prevent injection drug users from transmitting diseases such as hepatitis and HIV.
Doukkali emphasized that Morocco is committed, on an international level, to the fight against drug use, drug trafficking, money laundering, and terrorism.
Morocco is running the risk of becoming a “transit country for hard drugs.” Doukkali said that the role of Moroccan customs is essential in the fight against drug trafficking.
In terms of drug addiction, Morocco introduced the 2025 Action Plan to make treatment equally accessible for all citizens.
According to a 2017 study conducted by the Biochemistry, Nutrition and Cellular Biology Group in partnership with Casablanca’s Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, approximately 600,000 Moroccans are addicted to drugs. As many as 16,000 are addicted to hard drugs like heroin and cocaine. Drug addiction is especially prevalent among 18 to 28-year-olds.
The other most common addiction is alcoholism, according to a report by the National Observatory of Drugs and Addictions (ONDA).
