US Department of State Report (March 2017): Morocco is the world’s largest producer and exporter of cannabis.
Page 220 of the Report.
“Morocco is the world’s largest producer and exporter of cannabis. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Morocco’s total cannabis production for the 2015-2016 growing season was an estimated 700 metric tons, which, potentially equivalent to as much as 23 percent of Morocco’s $100 billion GDP once processed into hashish.
Government of Morocco representatives have stated that Morocco is becoming a transit route for cocaine originating from South America to Europe. Couriers of mostly West African origin are arrested on a weekly basis at the Casablanca International Airport with kilograms of cocaine concealed inside their luggage or ingested. In late 2016, Moroccan authorities achieved two record cocaine seizures, including a 250 kilogram (kg) seizure involving the arrest of two Peruvian “cooks” at a cocaine conversion laboratory in Oujda, and an approximately 1,230 kg seizure from a ship in Dakhla. These were the two largest cocaine seizures ever recorded in Morocco. Hashish is the most widely used illicit drug within Morocco. Moroccan authorities cite “karkoubi,” a generic name for several addictive benzodiazepines, as the second most commonly used drug. The Moroccan government has claimed that these psychotropic drugs enter the country from mainly from Algeria, and have been tied to a number of violent crimes committed by mostly young men under their hallucinogenic and aggressive effects. Approximately 25 percent of all Moroccan inmates (approximately 19,000) are incarcerated on drug charges. There is a domestic market both for cocaine and heroin, albeit a relatively small one due to the high price of these drugs. Morocco is updating its criminal code of procedure to enable law enforcement agencies to conduct undercover operations and other techniques not currently allowed. The new law is expected to take effect in spring 2017. The Government of Morocco recognizes its current limitations and works within the existing framework with its U.S. and European partners. Due to rivalries between Moroccan law enforcement agencies with overlapping drug control mandates, some Moroccan civil society commentators have advocated for creating an agency dedicated to combating drug trafficking. In February 2017, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) opened its first regional office on the African continent in Rabat, Morocco. There is no extradition treaty in force between the United States and Morocco. Mutual legal assistance between the United States and Morocco is governed by a bilateral agreement that entered into force in 1993. Both countries are parties to multilateral conventions which provide for cooperation in criminal matters”.
https://www.state.gov/documents/organization/268025.pdf
See also ECOFIN Website (Economic and Financial Directorate of the European Union) : “Morocco: cannabis output represents 23% of GDP, US State department says” : http://www.ecofinagency.com/agriculture/0703-36564-morocco-cannabis-output-represents-23-of-gdp-us-state-department-says
