I recently read Khalid’s latest paper“Navigating Cannabis Regulation in Morocco: Historical Context, Socio-Economic Impact, and Policy Gaps” (see below)He writes by way of introductionIn August 2021, Morocco adopted Law 13–21, authorizing the medical and industrial uses of cannabis. This new law marks a break from the prohibitionist drug policy and the successive failures of alternative development programs in the country, which have been conducted since independence. While this legalization occurs in Morocco at a time when several countries around the world have legalized cannabis for medical use, twenty years ago, the idea of legalizing cannabis in the country was inconceivable.The Ministry of Interior, which leads the fight against drugs, drives this legislative change. Since the extent of cultivated areas and the scale of hashish production were revealed in official reports by the Moroccan Agency for the Development of the North and UNODC in the mid- 2000s, the stated aim of the last twenty years was to eradicate cannabis production to reduce the figures of cultivated areas and production volume.This article explores the objectives of the recent legalization of medical and industrial cannabis use by analyzing three different categories of affected populations: local consumers, producers, and exporters. While the law targets the socio-economic needs of small farmers and caters to private industrial actors in the cannabis sector, local consumers and patients are overlooked in the legalization process. Therefore, this articleWe speak about Morocco’s historical background with regard to cannabis production and what has changed over the last 10-15 years.Khalid gives us a quick history of what “legalization” and “regulation” means.What the current issues are and what the country is doing now to create an environmet that works for Moroccan growers and building a local sector.Learn morehttps://cannabislaw.report/karma-koala-podcast-269-khalid-tinasti-his-new-paper-navigating-cannabis-regulation-in-morocco-historical-context-socio-economic-impact-and-policy-gaps/