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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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Morocco: Cannabis Eradication campaign continues in Larache Province
Rachid Merzaq Morocco Times
Monday 26 Jun 2006 Cannabis Eradication campaign continues in Larache Province The operation that the local authorities have carried out in Larache Province to combat cannabis cultivation has permitted the destruction of around 1.065 ha of the prohibited plant, reported the office in charge of this operation This large-scale action, started during the first week of June, aims continue the successful 2005 operation, “Province without cannabis'', which had led to the destruction of all cannabis-planted areas in Larache Province. After intensive awareness campaigns targeting the farmers of mountainous localities, to dissuade them from resuming the cultivation of the prohibited plant, the local authorities moved into action on June 6 to combat this clandestine agriculture. The choice of June for this operation is due to the fact that the plant has almost ripened by this time. The destruction operations have, so far, concerned the rural communes of Gorfet, Zaaroura, Ayacha, Rissana, Tatoft, Boujediane and El-Qola, as well as tens of douars (small villages). Like the previous campaign, a headquarters (HQ) was set up in this mountainous region near cannabis fields. To make the campaign a lawful act, a representative of the general prosecuter's department had issued an official report ordering the immediate destruction of all cannabis fields. Right after this order, non-stop operations were held without clashes or incidents. Significant recourses were mobilised to clear the fields of ‘kif' (Moroccan cannabis). Over 90 workers and a score of tractors and graders surrounded the fields. “By Tuesday, the mobilised resources had besieged hundreds of smallholdings and swept away 1,065 ha of cannabis and 6.5 ha of tobacco”,underlined an HQ official. The major difficulty was that a large part of this prohibited agriculture is practised in forest areas and river beds to which access is very hard; a real clandestine cultivation. Yet, the officials launching this operation affirmed that “the objective is to clear all the fields, with no exception.'' The successful operation “Province without Cannabis” will certainly be repeated this year, vowed the local authorities of Larache. As for the farmers involved in this prohibited agriculture, they will have to undergo a second campaign without harvest. “It's up to them to learn the lesson that the will to eradicate the prohibited agriculture is irreversible, and not a temporary campaign'', highlighted the officials of Larache Province. The strategy of combatting cannabis is accompanied by a supplementary programme for local development, within the framework and spirit of NIHD. In this way, the local authorities have already proceeded to the distribution of tools and goats for modern farming. This operation, in which several local partners are taking part, will continue in the coming days in the rural communes determined to combat cannabis. The farmers who have opted to accept alternative agriculture are expecting good harvests this year. Based on a study jointly conducted by Morocco and the UN Office on Drug and Crime (UNODC), Cannabis output in Morocco, thanks to eradication campaigns, was cut by 10% from 109,000 tons in 2003 to 98,000 tons in 2004. Since the first operation in June 2005, cannabis cultivation has dropped by 82% this year. The results obtained from the 2005 and 2006 campaigns are regularly sent to UNODC.
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