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Kenyon College

Publication Date

Spring 2017

Program Name

Morocco: Multiculturalism and Human Rights

Abstract

Cannabis is one of Morocco’s top industries, and Morocco is one of the world’s top cannabis providers. However, the growth, sale, and consumption of cannabis is very much illegal under the current legislation. In 2016 a bill was proposed in parliament to partially legalize cannabis cultivation and was supported by both the Party of Authenticity and Modernity and the Istiqlal Party, though it ultimately failed centrally due to opposition from the Islamist Party. Within this study, I examine Morocco’s current relationship with its cannabis industry and the three central potential paths from this point. The first is a continuation of the current ambiguity; the second to legalize; and the third is to fully enforce the current laws, ending in elimination of the industry - each of these paths would have immense impacts on Morocco, both economically and socially. I obtained my research through interviews with individuals in Chefchaouen (a city internationally known for its cannabis sale) and several government figures who had pushed for the recent bill proposing legalization.

Disciplines

African Studies | Economics | Family, Life Course, and Society | Growth and Development | Politics and Social Change

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