ANRAC will then launch the authorization process for farmers located within the regulatory perimeter (provinces of Al Hoceima, Chefchaouen and Taounate) to carry out the activity of cultivation and production of cannabis within agricultural cooperatives, specifies the press release, adding these players will be authorized gradually on the basis of the needs expressed by the authorized manufacturers.
In addition, the Agency continues to analyze the opportunities offered by the cannabis market in order to develop this sector and promote the conversion of farmers from illicit cultivation to legal, sustainable and income-generating cultivation, the statement concludes.
ANRAC at the heart of the Moroccan regulatory system
The recent appointment of Mohammed El Guerrouj as interim director general of ANRAC marks the acceleration of the operationalization of the agency. ANRAC’s mission will be to implement and monitor the ambitious project to legalize medical cannabis in Morocco.
The agency is notably responsible for issuing authorizations to operators in this new sector. According to local feedback, ANRAC has received numerous authorization requests, particularly following the publication of the six decrees in the Official Bulletin last June, in which all the terms and conditions for participation in the Moroccan cannabis industry are detailed.
In addition to granting authorisations, ANRAC is also responsible for drawing up specifications. The latter provides, among other things, storage conditions, environmental protection, as well as technical and transport standards. The agency’s mission is to follow the journey of cannabis at each of its stages (production, processing, manufacturing, marketing, export and import) and to support operators while developing the cannabis sector.
The agency is also responsible for the certification of seeds and plants to be imported and marketed with the aim of cultivating them in Morocco. These certifications will be based on the categories registered and on the official and cultivable lists in Morocco, in accordance with the laws in force.
The agency must also keep registers, namely that of the authorizations issued by it, that relating to the various activities and operations relating to cannabis and that of the stocks of legal Moroccan cannabis.
