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Berber farmer works in the cannabis field. The ground is stony, but cannabis doesn't need a fertile soil. There are 5.000.000 people inhabiting the Rif of which 800.000 living off cannabis cultivation.
Berber farmer watches his small cannabis field. He is able to produce 10 kg (22 pounds) of hashish a year, that brings him an income of 50.000 Moroccan dirhams (5.000 Euro). He must maintain 8 persons family.
Several years ago the hills surrounding Chefchaouen town were covered by cannabis plants. Currently fields start few kilometers further up the mountains.
Two kilograms of best quality hashish powder made from 200 kilograms of marijuana, that wholesale value is 4.000 Euro.
Chefchaouen. Hashish dealers wait for customers under the Souika Pension, one of many hotels popular among western tourist.
Keef (kayf) in Arabic means pleasure, in German, French and Russian slang it means "to get a high". In Morocco it is just marijuana. The Rif is a mountain range in Northern Morocco and a...
Keef from the Rif. Hashish production in Morocco.
Keef (kayf) in Arabic means pleasure, in German, French and Russian slang it means "to get a high". In Morocco it is just marijuana. The Rif is a mountain range in Northern Morocco and a source of nearly half of world hashish production, that meets 80% of European needs. Cannabis cultivation is illegal in Morocco, but from more than a hundred years, authorities turn a blind eye to this trade in the Rif, that is the poorest and the least developed region in the country, inhabited by rebellious Berbers.
In early sixties of 20th century the cannabis plantations covered an area of 5000 hectares (12.355 acres). In record 2003 it spread over 134.000 hectares (331.212 acres). It allowed to harvest 109.000 tn. (240.303.897,70 pounds) of marijuana and produce 3.070 tn. (6.768.192,35 pounds) of hashish. From 2003 due to European Union pressure Moroccan government tries to limit cannabis cultivations and replace them with other plants like tomatoes and barley and establishe National Parks on that areas.
Przemysław Kozłowski
