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Morocco pleaded, on Tuesday, for a collective response and strengthened sub-regional, regional, and international cooperation in the face of the global drug problem.
“Morocco remains convinced that the global drug problem is a common and shared responsibility, which requires a collective response and strengthened sub-regional, regional, and international cooperation between States, based on mutual trust, information exchange, and operational coordination, as outlined in the political documents we have negotiated and adopted in Vienna since 2009,” stated the Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Morocco to the United Nations Office at Vienna, Azzeddine Farhane, during the general debate of the 69th session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (March 9-13).
He emphasized, in this context, that “without cooperation between States, without mutual trust, cross-border drug trafficking cannot be combated effectively and efficiently.”
The diplomat subsequently explained that, in anticipation of the ministerial conference scheduled for 2029, Morocco has proposed initiating a collective reflection around three concrete avenues aimed at strengthening international cooperation.
The first avenue concerns strengthening international monitoring and anticipation capacities in the face of new threats, particularly those related to synthetic drugs and new psychoactive substances, through the improvement of early warning mechanisms and the intensification of scientific and operational information exchange, the diplomat noted.
The second, he added, focuses on consolidating a balanced and person-centered approach by strengthening prevention policies, improving access to treatment and addiction care services, as well as developing rehabilitation and social reintegration strategies.
The third avenue aims, according to Farhane, to adapt international cooperation mechanisms to the new realities of trafficking, notably by strengthening the fight against the use of digital technologies by criminal networks and improving coordination in combating illicit financial flows linked to drug trafficking.
“These avenues could help stimulate collective reflection within our Commission on the gaps and pitfalls that compromise international cooperation in the face of the evolving challenges of the global drug problem, in a spirit of responsibility and solidarity, far from any narrow and non-collaborative approach with ideological and political underpinnings,” the diplomat observed.
Farhane also reaffirmed Morocco’s determination to continue fully assuming its responsibilities within the Commission and to work with all Member States to collectively address the evolving challenges related to the global drug problem.
Diagnosing drug-related developments, the diplomat noted that Morocco believes it is more necessary than ever, looking ahead to the 2029 ministerial conference, to “renew and consolidate the international consensus around an integrated, multidisciplinary, balanced, evidence-based, and human rights-respecting approach, in order to better address the challenges posed by the global drug problem.”
The Kingdom, the diplomat continued, remains firmly committed to the implementation of the three international drug control conventions and continues to apply a comprehensive and integrated national anti-drug strategy, based on a balance between demand reduction, supply reduction, and socio-economic development.
Regarding demand reduction, Farhane recalled that Morocco has adopted a National Plan for the Prevention and Management of Addictive Disorders for the 2024-2030 period, aimed at strengthening prevention programs, improving access to specialized care, and promoting the rehabilitation and social reintegration of dependent individuals.
According to him, the recent adoption of the law on alternative sentencing also constitutes a major step forward, making it possible to favor rehabilitation approaches for minor consumption-related offenses.
With regard to supply reduction, Morocco is continuing its sustained efforts to combat drug trafficking and dismantle the criminal networks involved in this phenomenon, Farhane continued, noting that seizures made in 2025 amounted to 540.71 tons of cannabis resin, 98.74 tons of cannabis herb, 1,924.33 kilograms of cocaine, 6.14 kilograms of heroin, and 1,785,837 psychotropic pills, the majority of which were intercepted at the border of the Kingdom’s Eastern region.
In this context, the diplomat recalled that Morocco adopted Law 13-21 on the licit uses of cannabis, aimed at regulating the cultivation, production, industrialization, transport, and marketing of cannabis and its derivatives intended exclusively for industrial, medical, and scientific uses.
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