The top five cannabis producers in the world

Cannabis is a highly controversial plant. Legally produced in certain countries, it is sold on all over the world. Here are the five largest cannabis producers.

5. Mexico

6,200 tonnes of cannabis were produced in Mexico in 2021. Decriminalisation is under way in the country: adults may not only possess but also use cannabis for personal purposes without any penalty. Most of the production is exported to the United States.

At the end of 2021, the country’s chamber of deputies approved a bill to legalise cultivation, production and sale as well as consumption of cannabis for personal, medical and industrial use. Once the law is passed, a regulated market will be created, with operating licences for producers, distributors and retailers.

4. Pakistan

This fourth place is rather unexpected, since growing the plant is illegal there. Growers nonetheless hide away in mountain areas, in the Swat valley, to cultivate medicinal cannabis and CBD. Around 7,000 tonnes are grown in the country every year.

The production is then exported to Europe and Central Asia. In 2021, the government suggested that it would be open to decriminalising cannabis for medical and industrial use, within a strict regulatory framework.

3. India

Growing and using cannabis in the country is a cultural matter. Known as “ganja”, the plant is used there for spiritual and medicinal purposes. No fewer than 10,000 tonnes of cannabis are produced in India each year, mainly in remote areas: Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.

Although consumption has not been decriminalised, the health minister suggested in 2021 that possibilities for legalisation were being examined, but nothing further has emerged to date.

2. Afghanistan

As in India, cannabis growing is illegal but long established in this little-known country. It is in fact a key element of its economy. It is cultivated in Helmand province, reputed to have the largest area under cannabis in the world.

Afghanistan alone produces 13,000 tonnes of cannabis a year. The government nonetheless wages a constant fight against this illegal crop. Since 2010, campaigns to destroy fields have been carried out, and farmers are encouraged to turn to legal crops such as saffron and fruit. All these attempts have met with failure, however.

Moreover, given the social situation in the country, the question of legalisation is entirely secondary.

1. Morocco

This is quite simply the largest cannabis-producing country in the world, with 35,000 tonnes a year. It is grown mainly in the Rif region, where the climate is favourable.

Moroccan cannabis is exported to Europe. The country allows both the production and the sale of the plant for medicinal and industrial use. Although the law was approved in 2021, it is still not in force. A government agency has first to be set up to regulate production, processing and marketing. Paradoxically, consumption in the country is illegal and punishable by six months to two years in prison as well as a heavy fine.