Morocco

Morocco is a developing nation in North Africa that borders Algeria and Western Sahara, with an economy heavily dependent on its phosphorous production (only China and the United States produce more), with telecommunications and information technology being fast-growing sectors of the service-and-industry-driven economy. Morocco was the first North African country to install a 3G network, for instance, and most Moroccans have an Internet subscription. At the same time, though it contributes only about 14 percent of the gross domestic product, the agricultural sector employs about 40 percent of the population, tying many regions of the country to the fortunes of the weather.

Though crime in general in Morocco is fairly low, a disproportionate amount of it is related to the drug trade. Morocco is a major source of marijuana (and the world's largest exporter of hashish), the growers of which are motivated by the same factors motivating drug growers in other countries with income inequalities and a large but low-income agricultural sector: it is a profitable enough crop that a farmer can more easily survive a bad season or save up the money to expand his farm. Most of the country's marijuana is grown in the poor northern region of Rif.

Trafficking is fairly easy, Morocco being a short overseas distance from Europe, in addition to the numerous domestic sales. Marijuana sales are the largest source of foreign currency for Morocco, both the overseas trade and sales to tourists in cities like Casablanca. The European Union spent nearly $2 million on a five-year alternative cultivation program designed to encourage Rif's marijuana growers to switch to another crop, but had so little evident success that the program unofficially folded two years early. In the meantime, Morocco's marijuana crop had doubled since the program's inception, and its cultivation is estimated to employ about one fifth of the north's families.

Although the police have attempted to crack down on marijuana cultivation in the north, their road blocks and searches have simply made the growers dependent on drug cartels, who can provide safe trafficking, as well as cash advances for purchasing supplies or making up for police-seized product.

Potent hashish, locally called kif, is a popular drug in Morocco, especially as a social drug among men, who gather in cafes to smoke kif, play cards, and drink local mint tea. Though the overwhelming number of frequent drug users are men under 25, occasional users include men of all ages. Women are not welcome in men's cafes, though they are not explicitly forbidden. It is difficult to estimate how common drug use is among women, especially [Page 534]beyond their teen years. Though illegal, kif smoking tends to be overlooked in men's cafes and at beaches, with the authorities focusing on reducing the supply and punishing the sellers. Yet, to meet arrest quotas, police will arrest marijuana users.

The United Nations (UN) estimates that approximately 4.2 percent of the population between the ages of 15 and 64 are annually cannabis users, although rates of use are much higher in the Rif Mountains. The inadequacy of treatment centers in Morocco makes it difficult to estimate the extent of heroin, opium, or cocaine use; however, the UN estimates that less than 0.02 percent of the population use these drugs. The drug of convenience for street children seems to be fumes sniffed from glue, paint, shoe polish, and other chemicals, against which there are no laws so long as the children are not arrested for disorderly conduct or vagrancy.

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