Rabat – Head of government Abdelilah Benkirane said on Tuesday that his government will not authorize the cultivation of cannabis in the country, saying that those who claim otherwise are selling ‘illusions’ to the small growers in the north of the kingdom.

Benkirane, who was speaking at the monthly session of oral questions in the House of Representatives, said that the policy of the state has not changed in this regard, adding that there is no evidence that all the cannabis can be used for pharmaceutical and medical purposes.

Rabat – Hamid Chabat, Secretary General of the Istiqlal Party, one of Morocco’s major opposition political parties, has again called for amnesty for Cannabis growers.

Speaking during a pre-election rally over the weekend in Ouzzane, northern Morocco, Hamid Chabat called for the adoption of a bill granting amnesty to small cannabis growers in the north of the kingdom.

He said that nearly 80,000 cannabis growers are released on bail and risk going back to prison at any moment because of their involvement in the cultivation of cannabis, while “corrupt and money launderers enjoy amnesty.” He added that the majority of these small growers lack identity documents and cannot exercise their voting rights.

Rabat- Hamid Chabat, Secretary General of the Istiqlal Party, one of Morocco’s major opposition political parties, has once again called for the legalization of Cannabis.

Chabat called over weekend for the legalization of cannabis and the reorientation of its cultivation to the pharmaceutical industries.

He called for the outright legalization of cannabis, calling the government’s proposal to replace the cultivation of the plant by raising goats, a ‘lie’.

This call comes just few months before the municipal elections scheduled for next September. The Istiqlal party denies any attempt to use the issue for electoral purposes.

Shaheed Elhafed — The drug seizures in the region countries have reached alarming proportions in recent months, according to press sources of the countries affected by the cannabis trafficking.

"The plague is gaining ground and taking dangerous proportions," said the press highlighting that "inquisitors investigations were often revealing and the discoveries confirm the transformations in the matter" in reference to changes in the methods used by traffickers to route their poison.

San Rafael High School’s claims to fame include adult actress Nikki Tyler and Night Ranger’s “Sister Christian” video, but the California campus is best known as the alleged birthplace of 420. Back in 1971, five classmates sought a hidden cannabis crop in the Point Reyes Peninsula, and 420 served as the code word for the search and their 4:20 p.m. meeting time. The legend may or may not be historically accurate, but 420 is definitely the preeminent counterculture holiday with annual cannabis celebrations on April 20. On the fifty shades of green scale, 420 ranks up there with St. Patty’s and Earth Day, and travelers can celebrate with cities to visit, things to do and places to munch.

Punta del Este, Uruguay

As for the European market for cannabis (EMCDDA), according to the result of the EU drugs agency in Lisbon in recent years there is a major change: "Morocco" is virtually "out", "indoor" plantations are "in". The Cannabis plants are increasingly grown locally for the local market. This is especially dangerous for those behind the smuggling are bypassed.

The numbers have changed little in recent years. For example, 24 percent of the Viennese have at least once consumed hemp products, 13 percent within the past three years, six percent in the last 30 days. This is what the "drug monitoring study" found in the past year.

Consumption pervades all age groups

In the blink of an eye, global debates about cannabis regulation have shifted from “whether” to “how.” In 2014, Uruguay became the first nation to explicitly regulate cannabis from seed to sale. Its preferred strategy? State-regulated production, cannabis clubs, and personal growing. Meanwhile, four U.S. states and the District of Columbia have moved ahead with legal regulation, Colorado and Washington being the first, and the federal government seems unlikely to intervene. More states, possibly even California, look set to follow. Likewise, in the rest of the world, there are a number of gray-area regulatory systems, including in Belgium, the Netherlands, and Spain. All offer insights into how the United States—and other countries—might tackle the “how.”

THE AMERICAN MODEL

Rabat – Hamid Chabat, Secretary General of the Istiqlal Party, one of Morocco’s major opposition political parties, has again called for amnesty for Cannabis growers.

Speaking during a pre-election rally over the weekend in Ouzzane, northern Morocco, Hamid Chabat called for the adoption of a bill granting amnesty to small cannabis growers in the north of the kingdom.

He said that nearly 80,000 cannabis growers are released on bail and risk going back to prison at any moment because of their involvement in the cultivation of cannabis, while “corrupt and money launderers enjoy amnesty.” He added that the majority of these small growers lack identity documents and cannot exercise their voting rights.

MURCIA, Spain – Spanish and French police forces dismantled an international hashish-smuggling organization that exported product from Morocco and distributed it in Europe, arresting 12 suspects, according the Spanish security forces on Friday.

Authorities detailed that two of the detainees are Spanish citizens, four are Moroccan nationals, and the remaining six are French citizens of North African descent, while pointing out that the raid operation was overseen by the European agency EUROJUST.

At least 800,000 Moroccans live off illegal marijuana cultivation, generating annual sales estimated at $10 billion, or 10 percent of the economy, according to the Moroccan Network for the Industrial and Medicinal use of Marijuana, a local charity. Photographer: Abdelhak Senna/AFP via Getty Images

Mustapha Tahiri, a cannabis farmer in northern Morocco, looks forward to the day he can sell his crop without worrying about being jailed. If lawmakers in the Islamist-led government have their way, that isn’t too far off.