Morocco supplies up to 80% of the hash market of western Europe. A lareg portion of that crop comes from the Rif Mountains area in the nation’s north. As with any major drug producing region, politics has played a massive role in its fortunes.
According to the UN 1000 tons of hash is produced in the Rif Mountains every year. A kilo of hash will go for about $350 at the source, but by the time it get’s to Europe it is many times that amount. Of course, for a poor Moroccan farmer, the return on producing drugs is far greater than that on producing other types of cash crop.
But why does the Rif region produce so much and why can’t the government of Morocco crack down on it? That’s where the politics comes in.
In 1958, after an unsuccessful coup attempt against the royal family of Morocco, the former King decided to cut off all substantial government ties with the region. That meant no royal visits, and much more importantly, no money for infrastructure development. The Rif to this day remains destitute and undeveloped to a large extent.
Basic roads and transport simply don’t exist in many parts of the Rif. That makes it terribly difficult for law enforcement to enforce anything much at all. Combine that lack of law enforcement presence with extreme poverty as well as a perfect climate for growing a profitable cash crop and you are left with one of the biggest producing regions for hash in the world.
With the change in king and under pressure from foreign governments, the Moroccan government is now starting to develop some infrastructure in the Rif and enforce laws against the production of drugs. A recent article from the Economist intimates that the effort is half hearted and successful on in a superficial way, but after 40 years of ignoring the area, things probably aren’t going to happen overnight.
