Ecological dimensions of cannabis regulation in the Rif, Morocco (2025)

In 2021, Morocco legalised the use of cannabis for medical and industrial purposes, with the stated aim of promoting the development of marginalised rural communities in the Rif mountains where illicit production is concentrated. The decision, which was widely hailed, generated a great deal of interest around issues of market access, licensing, and the substitution of illicit crops, yet the environmental dimension of this transition remains largely absent from public debate. This article aims to analyse how Morocco’s cannabis legalisation intersects with environmental sustainability, examining the ecological consequences of both traditional and modern cultivation practices and the regulatory frameworks shaping them. It does so by combining insights from over two decades of fieldwork in the Rif region with policy analysis to compare legal and illicit cultivation systems, assess resource use and biodiversity impacts, and situate Morocco’s cannabis sector within broader national and international environmental commitments. The analysis highlights how regulatory priorities such as standardisation, traceability, and control often overlook environmental concerns, whether in the promotion of beldia (Moroccan traditional cannabis) as an agroecological variety or in the rise of water- and chemical-intensive hybrids and greenhouse farming. These dynamics risk entrenching environmentally damaging practices despite some opportunities that legalisation presents for more sustainable cultivation. [Author's abstract]