Morocco’s legal cannabis industry is expanding, but the country’s regulators are making one thing clear: having a license doesn’t mean you can ignore the rules.
New figures from Morocco’s National Agency for the Regulation of Cannabis Activities, known as ANRAC, reveal that 1,490 authorizations have been withdrawn following failures to comply with legal and administrative requirements.
The announcement comes as the country’s regulated cannabis sector continues to develop.
Across the three provinces authorized for legal cultivation, approximately 1,100 hectares of the local beldia variety have already been harvested during the 2026 agricultural season.
That represents roughly 60% of the total cultivated area dedicated to this variety.
In Taounate alone, the harvest is reportedly 92% complete.
But while agricultural activity is progressing, authorities are also increasing inspections across the industry.
Around 1,300 of the withdrawn authorizations involved farmers, while approximately 190 concerned other activities, including processing, marketing, transportation and exports.
And here’s the important distinction: cannabis cultivation is not generally legal throughout Morocco.
Since the adoption of Law 13-21, Morocco has developed a regulated framework allowing cannabis production for authorized medical, pharmaceutical and industrial purposes.
Cultivation is restricted to designated areas, and producers must follow specific licensing requirements.
The goal is to bring part of a historically informal agricultural economy into a regulated industry while creating legal economic opportunities.
But establishing that industry requires oversight, particularly when it comes to production, distribution and compliance.
For younger Moroccans, the figures also highlight an important distinction between legalization for specific commercial purposes and unrestricted recreational use.
Morocco’s cannabis industry is becoming more structured and economically significant.
But as the latest license withdrawals show, building a legal market involves far more than allowing a crop to be grown.
