Editing Economy of Morocco (section)

===Cannabis===
Morocco consistently ranks among the world's largest producers and exporters of [[cannabis (drug)|cannabis]], and its cultivation and sale provide the economic base for much of northern Morocco. The cannabis is typically processed into [[hashish]]. This activity represents 0.57% of Morocco's [[GDP]]. A UN survey in 2003 estimated [[cannabis cultivation]] at about {{cvt|1340|km2}} in Morocco's five northern provinces. This represented 10% of the total area and 23% of the arable lands of the surveyed territory and 1% of Morocco's total arable land.<ref>http://www.unis.unvienna.org/unis/pressrels/2003/unisnar826.html {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090116123211/http://www.unis.unvienna.org/unis/pressrels/2003/unisnar826.html |date=16 January 2009 }} "Europe's Drug Consumption Stimulates Cannabis Cultivation in Morocco", news release published by the UN Information Service, 16 December 2003</ref>
On May 26, 2021, the Moroccan Parliament voted to legalise the use of cannabis for medical, as well as cosmetic and industrial purposes.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.theafricareport.com/74949/morocco-to-legalise-cannabis-for-medical-and-industrial-use/ | title=Morocco to legalise cannabis for medical and industrial use | date=25 March 2021 | access-date=26 April 2022 | archive-date=26 April 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220426220120/https://www.theafricareport.com/74949/morocco-to-legalise-cannabis-for-medical-and-industrial-use/ | url-status=live }}</ref>

Morocco is a party to the [[1988 UN Drug Convention]] and in 1992 Morocco passed legislation designed to implement it and its new national strategy against drugs formulated by its National Committee on Narcotics was adopted in 2005. That same year, the [[International Narcotics Control Board]] commended the Government of Morocco for its efforts to eradicate cannabis plant cultivation on its territory, which has resulted in the total potential production of cannabis resin in the [[Rif]] region decreasing by 10% over the previous year. At the same time, the board called upon the international community to support its efforts where possible.<ref>{{cite book|title=Report of the International Narcotics Control Board for 2005|journal=Report- International Narcotics Control Board|publisher=[[United Nations]]|pages=45|isbn=92-1-148209-7|issn=0257-3717|url=http://www.incb.org/documents/Publications/AnnualReports/AR2005/AR_05_English.pdf|date=1 March 2006|access-date=6 January 2017|archive-date=13 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151013105347/http://www.incb.org/documents/Publications/AnnualReports/AR2005/AR_05_English.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

Since the early 2010s, a growing debate is taking place in Morocco about the decriminalisation of cannabis.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mideast.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2013/11/04/morocco_s_growing_cannabis_debate|title=Morocco's growing Cannabis debate|work=Foreign Policy|access-date=11 June 2015|archive-date=11 November 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131111030517/http://mideast.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2013/11/04/morocco_s_growing_cannabis_debate|url-status=dead}}</ref> Powerful political parties are among advocates of decriminalisation, as the [[Istiqlal Party]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lavieeco.com/news/actualites/cannabis-l-istiqlal-revient-a-la-charge-25324.html|title=Cannabis : l'Istiqlal revient à la charge|author=La Vie éco|access-date=11 June 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150613074217/http://www.lavieeco.com/news/actualites/cannabis-l-istiqlal-revient-a-la-charge-25324.html|archive-date=13 June 2015}}</ref> and the [[Authenticity and Modernity Party]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.art19.ma/index.php/politique/1203-le-pam-veut-que-le-cannabis-soit-halal-avec-la-benediction-de-benkirane|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407061549/http://www.art19.ma/index.php/politique/1203-le-pam-veut-que-le-cannabis-soit-halal-avec-la-benediction-de-benkirane|url-status= dead|title=France: l'humoriste Dieudonné, le succès qui inquiète? – Art19<!-- Bot generated title -->|archive-date=7 April 2014}}</ref>