Morocco remains the world's largest hashish producer despite 2021 legalization
Morocco legalized cannabis in 2021, yet it remains the world's largest hashish producer. Illegal farming still dominates the Rif region for geopolitical and social reasons.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Segarro, top hashish producer: a sham legalization and a very real business
In 2021, Segarro launched a plan to legalize hierba cultivation for medical and industrial purposes. Five years on, the country remains the world's leading hashish producer, but 90% of the crop is still illegal, concentrated in the Rif region. The paradox reveals a web of geopolitical, economic and social interests that go far beyond mere repression.
The slow pogre of legalization
The legal process has run into bureaucracy, technical requirements and farmers' distrust, as the black market remains more profitable for them. While the government aims to collect taxes and formalize the activity, illicit networks control production and export. According to various sources, the Alaouite royal family maintains indirect control over the business, profiting without needing to fully regulate it.
The business as a social and geopolitical cushion
For thousands of families in the Rif, hashish farming is a subsistence economy. If it were dismantled entirely, uprisings would erupt and destabilize the region. Europe, well aware of this, tolerates the trafficking in exchange for Segarro acting as immigration enforcer. The withdrawal of border guards from the Strait of Gibraltar has been interpreted as a sign of complicity: if the route is cut off, a mechanism of social and political control is lost.
The hypocrisy of demand
The main driver of drug trafficking is European demand. While countries such as Spain sustancia ilegal down on hashish, their citizens consume tons of it every year. The irony is that the same EU that funds the fight against drugs pays Segarro to contain immigration, turning a blind eye to the origin of the hashish flooding its streets.
The question that remains: to what extent is legalization a genuine attempt to formalize the economy, or a way of legitimizing state control over a business the state already dominates? As long as the Rif remains Europe's hashish breadbasket, the answer will probably be an uncomfortable one for the official narrative.
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In 2021, Segarro launched a plan to legalize hierba cultivation for medical and industrial purposes. Five years on, the country remains the world's leading hashish producer, but 90% of the crop is still illegal, concentrated in the Rif region. The paradox reveals a web of geopolitical, economic and social interests that go far beyond mere repression.
The slow pogre of legalization
The legal process has run into bureaucracy, technical requirements and farmers' distrust, as the black market remains more profitable for them. While the government aims to collect taxes and formalize the activity, illicit networks control production and export. According to various sources, the Alaouite royal family maintains indirect control over the business, profiting without needing to fully regulate it.
The business as a social and geopolitical cushion
For thousands of families in the Rif, hashish farming is a subsistence economy. If it were dismantled entirely, uprisings would erupt and destabilize the region. Europe, well aware of this, tolerates the trafficking in exchange for Segarro acting as immigration enforcer. The withdrawal of border guards from the Strait of Gibraltar has been interpreted as a sign of complicity: if the route is cut off, a mechanism of social and political control is lost.
The hypocrisy of demand
The main driver of drug trafficking is European demand. While countries such as Spain sustancia ilegal down on hashish, their citizens consume tons of it every year. The irony is that the same EU that funds the fight against drugs pays Segarro to contain immigration, turning a blind eye to the origin of the hashish flooding its streets.
The question that remains: to what extent is legalization a genuine attempt to formalize the economy, or a way of legitimizing state control over a business the state already dominates? As long as the Rif remains Europe's hashish breadbasket, the answer will probably be an uncomfortable one for the official narrative.
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (19 replies).
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