Simply two years in the past, Abdesselam Ichou started rising hashish legally as a part of Morocco's legalization of the plant for medicinal and industrial makes use of in an impoverished a part of the nation.
Now, he’s amongst hundreds of authorized farmers whose cultivation space has reached new highs and reduce into the unlawful commerce nonetheless dominant in Morocco, the biggest producer of hashish resin on the planet, in keeping with the United Nations.
The North African nation handed a legislation in 2021 permitting the cultivation of hashish for medical and industrial use in areas of the Rif, a mountainous area that has lengthy been a supply of illicit cannabis – a stronger by-product of hashish – smuggled into Europe.
“I by no means imagined that sooner or later I’d have the ability to develop hashish with out the concern and anxiousness of being arrested, robbed, or not with the ability to promote my crop,” mentioned Ichou, 48.
“At the moment, we work within the daytime, in a free and dignified means,” he added, proudly displaying his leafy crops within the commune of Mansoura, within the Chefchaouen area south of Tangier.
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https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2024/07/morocco-cannabis-growers-come-out-shadows
