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Taroudant, Morocco- The head of a Moroccan opposition party said on Wednesday that some of the medicines used by Moroccans are extract from cannabis.
In the context of the national debate about legalization of the cultivation and exploitation of cannabis in Morocco, the Party of Modernity and Authenticity (PAM), recently held a study day conference to address “The Role of Positive Uses of the Cannabis Plant in Creating an Alternative Economy.”
Mr. Mustafa Bakkoury, the Secretary-General of the PAM, said that “There are indeed alternative uses of cannabis, especially in the manufacture of medicines. Some Moroccans have been prescribed certain medicines that come from America and Canada which are made of extracted from cannabis, and they have no other choice but to use these medicines,” he said.
Yet, cannabis also has harmful uses, and we have to work on legalizing the positive uses and fighting the negative uses of this plant,” he added.
In her speech during the conference, Ms. Milouda Hazeb, the team leader of the PAM in Morocco’s House of Representatives, stated “It should not be understood that our efforts are a means to support the production of this plant in the same way and for the same known negative purposes as have existed in the past. We are not seeking to legalize the production of drugs, but to search for possible medical and industrial uses of this plant and thereby create an alternative economy in the region.”
“We have raised this topic to think collectively and with a loud voice in order to develop suggestions and recommendations with respect to finding an alternative economy for the cannabis plant,” she added.
Mr. Hakim Benchemass, the team leader of PAM in the House of Councilors, said that “The aim behind this international conference is to bring the debate that concerns the whole society out of the street to its normal place, in the Parliament.”
Mr. Benchemass added, “We are hoping, from this conference, to contribute positively to the ongoing debate revolving around this national plant,” to consider ways through which the country can benefit from the opportunities for development that the positive uses of this plant can afford.
According to the Associated Press, “Morocco is a signatory to the 1961 drug control treaty and would face sanctions if it legalized drugs for recreational use, however the treaty does provide exceptions for legal and industrial applications.”
While some political parties in the kingdom are unlikely to oppose any future draft law legalizing the cultivation of the plant for positive uses, the law would not pass without sparking social uproar, and it may face severe hurdles in Parliament.
