In the early 1960s the Moroccan army mounted a campaign to eradicate the kif fields around Ketama, but poor communications, rugged terrain and armed resistance made it fail.[1] Joseph suspected any such army attempt was more a dramatic charade to placate world opinion — Morocco facing occasional censure from bodies such as the WHO if it made no eradication effort — since producers were entrenched, wielded political power, and colluded with officials susceptible to bribes.[1] The resulting government position was paradoxical: the sale of kif prohibited but not its production, with widely publicised arrests of small-lot dealers serving as announcements of an anti-cannabis posture while production, distribution and consumption went on unabated.[1]
Listed for context. No score change is recorded for Morocco here.
References
- The Economic Significance of Cannabis sativa in the Moroccan RifRoger Joseph · In Cannabis and Culture, edited by Vera Rubin · Mouton · 1975 · History section, printed pp. 191–193; early-1960s Ketama eradication failure, WHO censure, official collusion, sale-banned-but-production-allowed paradox, showcase arrests
Checked. The date and the event were compared with a source that was read.