Morocco govt backs legalising hashish for medical use

The government of Morocco, the world’s top producer of hashish, ratified Thursday a draft law to legalise the medical use of cannabis but upheld a ban on its recreational use.
Parliament, however, still needs to give its final approval to the legislation. The draft law calls for the creation of a national agency to regulate the industry, and for the establishment of cooperatives that would grow “certified” cannabis plants.
The move would “reconvert illicit” cannabis plantations into “legal and durable activities that generate jobs”, according to the text of the draft legislation. According to a report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) last year, the North African country is the world’s biggest producer of cannabis resin, or hashish.