Rabat – Governor of El Jadida Province Mohamed El Guerrouj has been appointed interim General Director of the National Agency for Regulating Cannabis Related Activities.
The decision came from the Head of Morocco’s Government Aziz Akhannouch, after Royal Approval. El Guerrouj will lead the new agency until the appointment of a permanent general director.
The newly conceived agency started operations in June, aiming to oversee the legal cultivation of cannabis for medical and commercial use.
Earlier this year, Morocco’s government ratified the 2021 provisional legislation that legalized the cultivation of the drug and its use for medical purposes.
The agency is responsible for issuing licenses to operators in the industry to cultivate, market, and sell the product. It will also oversee the supply chain of cannabis from acquiring seeds, to its marketing and export.
Morocco hopes to capitalize on its already vast but illicit production of cannabis by legalizing and exporting the popular substance. Several reports put the country among the world’s top producers of the substance.
As more states around the world continue allowing cannabis use both medically and recreationally, the country is looking to join the industry projected to reach a value of $102 billion in the coming years.
While the regulation of the substance is divisive, the legislation did not change any rules concerning its domestic consumption, as its use for medical and industrial purposes was not illegal before.
