User:MayaIniguez/New sandbox

Cannabis Culture

Sebsi pipe

Tourism

With the increasingly publicized worldwide consumption of cannabis, Moroccan citizens have capitalized on the feasibility of the production of this drug in the mountainous Rif region, as well as the interest in cannabis from tourists. The area itself does not produce many crops other than kif, the Moroccan name for cannabis, creating ample space for tours of the region to take place. The cities of Chefchaouen and Ketama have become a hub for cannabis tourism in the past decades.

Cannabis tourism has grown to become an important and dominant source of wealth for growers, dealers and unofficial tour guides alike. Tours are not officially advertised, and mostly occur by word-of-mouth. Hash pressing, consumption of the drug and sales are still illegal, but unofficially, it has made the North African region one of the largest exporters of the cash crop hashish. This cash crop has provided a stable income and reliability for more than 90,000 households. The magnitude and multitude of cannabis fields predominantly draws European tourists; Europe being one of the largest importers of Moroccan cannabis.

Economic Use

As Moroccan law officials continue to debate over the legality of producing cannabis for public use, production has started to become less criminalized. Recognizing that no other crops grow in the mountainous region, other than cannabis, the Moroccan government has been forced to allow farmers to continue their small production businesses. Producing hashish for European exports and visiting tourists provides a consistent form of employment and income for the farmers in the Rif region. Distribution costs and pricing vary depending on the location and proximity to large cities. The further a site of production is from cities, the fewer distributors are needed, thus allocating all funds from sales to the growers themselves. The surge of cannabis demand has also greatly increased the feasibility of the drug trade to remain a successful business throughout Morocco's ports and borders.

While acceptance for cannabis production is growing, so is the inflation of prices and the devaluation of farmers' crops. Taxes pose a threat to the security of income that growers rely upon as their few means of economic gains.

Recreational Use

Prior to the internationalization of the cannabis trade, Moroccan cannabis was consumed locally, smoked in a long sebsi pipe or mixed into food, and was also used occasionally in Sufi religious rituals. Majoun is also a popular traditional edible, a candy or jam made of cannabis with honey and spices that is ingested to feel the sensations similar to those of smoking cannabis. Recreational use has yet to be publicly accepted due to the official Islamic ban on marijuana consumption.