This report first published by Hesspress on 23 April 2026.
Morocco has become the dominant cannabis player on the continent and looks set to continue its leadership position as it broadens its international footprint.
Figures released by the National Agency for Cannabis Regulation (ANRAC) show that 2025 was a record year. Total dry cannabis production reached 19,576 quintals last year, up from 18,810 in 2024.
The harvest was spread across 3,141 hectares farmed by 4,776 licensed growers, using both the traditional local Beldia variety and imported strains.
The agency issued 4,147 new authorisations during the year, bringing total operational licences to 5,765.
The overwhelming majority cover cultivation, with the remainder spanning processing, commercialisation, export, import and transport across 183 licensed operators.
Processing capacity is expanding with five operators completed and equipped factories last year with a combined capacity of 560 tonnes, while eleven more facilities are under construction. Moroccan cannabis products are now available at more than 600 authorised retail points nationwide.
110 new products were registered with the national medicines agency in 2025, including 50 food supplements, 59 cosmetic products and one pharmaceutical drug, bringing the total on the market to 141.
Internationally, Moroccan products have established a presence in seven countries: France, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Luxembourg, Portugal, Australia and South Africa.
ANRAC organised prospecting missions in several European capitals to promote the national product and explore further market openings.
“The priority in 2025 was commercialisation,” ANRAC director general Mohamed El Guerrouj said, adding that the agency was focused on moving the sector from licensing toward active market participation.
The agency conducted 7,526 conformity checks during the year, withdrawing 111 licences from 90 operators and initiating proceedings against a further 85 operators and more than 1,200 farmers over regulatory breaches.
Morocco legalised cannabis cultivation in 2021, seeking to bring a longstanding but largely informal industry, centred on the northern Rif region, into a regulated framework.
The country was historically one of the world’s largest producers of cannabis resin, and the legal sector is now attempting to redirect that agricultural base toward pharmaceutical, cosmetic and food supplement markets at home and abroad.
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