RABAT: Morocco’s king has pardoned nearly 5,000 people convicted or wanted on charges linked to illegal cannabis cultivation, the justice ministry said in a statement on Monday.
Morocco is a major cannabis producer and has allowed the cultivation, export and use of the drug for medicine or in industry since 2021, but it does not allow it to be used for recreational purposes.
The pardon by King Mohammed VI would encourage farmers “to engage in the legal process of cannabis cultivation to improve their revenue and living conditions,” Mohammed El Guerrouj, head of Moroccan cannabis regulator ANRAC, told Reuters.
Morocco’s first legal cannabis harvest was 294 metric tons in 2023, according to official figures. Legal exports since 2023 so far stood at 225 kilograms, Guerrouj said.
This year it is expected to be higher as the number of farming permits increases and ANRAC allows the cultivation of the local strain known as Beldia.
Nearly a million people live in areas of northern Morocco where cannabis is the main economic activity. It has been publicly grown and smoked there for generations, mixed with tobacco in traditional long-stemmed pipes with clay bowls.
The 2021 legalization was intended to improve farmers’ incomes and protect them from drug traffickers who dominate the cannabis trade and export it illegally.
Morocco is also seeking to tap into a growing global market for legal cannabis, and awarded 54 export permits last year.
Morocco pardons nearly 5,000 cannabis farming convicts
https://arab.news/mzpy6
Morocco pardons nearly 5,000 cannabis farming convicts
- Morocco is a major cannabis producer and has allowed the cultivation, export and use of the drug for medicine
UAE closes embassy in Tehran, withdraws ambassador
- UAE foreign ministry said Iranian strikes represented serious and irresponsible escalation
DUBAI: The United Arab Emirates closed its embassy in Tehran on Sunday and has withdrawn its ambassador and all diplomatic staff from Iran following Iranian missile strikes targeting the Gulf country.
In a statement, the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the decision came in response to what it described as “blatant Iranian missile attacks” on Emirati territory.
The ministry said the strikes targeted civilian sites, including residential areas, airports, ports and service facilities, and represented a serious and irresponsible escalation.
“These hostile attacks constitute a flagrant violation of national sovereignty and a clear breach of international law and the Charter of the United Nations,” the statement said.
The ministry added that the move reflects the UAE’s “firm and unwavering stance against any aggression” that threatens its security and sovereignty. It accused Iran of continued hostile and provocative conduct that undermines de-escalation efforts and pushes the region toward a dangerous trajectory, threatening regional and international peace, energy security and global economic stability.
Dubai and Abu Dhabi have faced hundreds of missile and drone attacks since Saturday, as Tehran retaliates against US-Israeli airstrikes.
While the majority of the projectiles have reportedly been intercepted, there have been reports of casualties and damage in several areas of both cities.
