The government of Morocco has set up a monitoring agency that would ensure the legal use of cannabis just before the North African country completes the legalization of cannabis resin.

Morocco is the world’s largest producer of cannabis resin and could potentially make billions in revenue with the export or legalized local trade of the byproduct of the Cannabis plant, according to economic experts.

In 2021, Morocco adopted a law that authorized “the legal uses of medical, cosmetic and industrial cannabis”, but maintained the ban on recreational use of the plant. This move would position Morocco to benefit in a global market that is growing at an annual rate of 30 percent and by 60 percent a year in Europe.

For its first meeting, under the chairmanship of Interior Minister Abdelouafi Laftit, the board of directors of the “National Agency for the Regulation of Cannabis Activities” (ANRAC) approved its organisation chart and budget for the year 2022.

The public structure would be charged with the responsibility of controlling all stages of the production chain, from the importation of seeds and the certification of plants to the marketing of cannabis products.

Its action plan includes, in particular, the forthcoming launch of licensing procedures for national and international operators in the legal cannabis industry.

The agency will also have to set up the first processing and manufacturing cooperatives, composed exclusively of local growers.

The last six technical decrees needed to implement the law were published Thursday in the official bulletin, an interior ministry spokesman told AFP.

Meanwhile, the government has set the areas authorized for the cultivation, production and exploitation of cannabis in the provinces of Al Hoceima, Chefchaouen and Taounate, located in the Rif, a mountainous and deprived region in Morocco.