Morocco Sees Shift From Traditional Cannabis Production to Cooperatives

Morocco’s cannabis cooperatives are emerging as the most efficient production model in the country’s newly regulated industry, outperforming both artisanal and industrial systems as legalization shifts the structure of the sector, according to a recent peer reviewed study.

The research, based on a life cycle assessment of cannabis seed oil production, finds that cooperative systems deliver the lowest environmental impact and strongest overall performance across energy use, resource efficiency and governance indicators.

Cooperatives require around 3 kilograms of seeds to produce one kilogram of oil, compared with significantly higher input needs in artisanal production, while consuming less energy per unit produced.

This performance gap reflects structural differences. Cooperative models pool resources, standardize processes and reduce losses, while traditional artisanal production remains fragmented, with lower yields and higher environmental costs.

The shift follows Morocco’s 2021 legalization of cannabis for medical and industrial use under Law 13-21, which requires farmers to operate within licensed frameworks, often through cooperatives, to access legal markets.

That framework is already reshaping the sector. In 2023, Morocco’s first legal harvest involved 32 cooperatives and 430 farmers, a figure that has since expanded as thousands of growers seek licenses to join the regulated system.

Legalization has created a new production hierarchy. Cooperative structures now act as the main interface between farmers and the market, aggregating output, ensuring compliance and enabling access to processing and export channels.

Traditional production, long dominant in Morocco’s cannabis economy, is losing ground as it struggles to meet efficiency, traceability and regulatory requirements. Informal growers face higher production costs and limited access to legal buyers, while regulated supply chains increasingly favor organized groups.

The transition remains incomplete. While the legal sector is expanding, large areas of cannabis cultivation continue to operate outside formal channels, reflecting both economic incentives and structural barriers to entry for smaller producers.

The study’s findings place cooperatives at the center of Morocco’s cannabis strategy, not only as a tool for regulation but as the most viable production model under current market and environmental conditions.