Morocco

Drugs are illegal in Morocco and penalties for drug offences are severe, including long-term prison sentences.

The prosecutor can automatically appeal in drug cases; foreigners are detained pending trial.

Verified Jul 12, 2026

Cannabis is illegal to possess or use in Morocco. The 2021 cannabis law legalised only licensed farming and industry for medical, pharmaceutical and industrial products in three northern provinces — it did not legalise recreational or personal use, and its article 50 expressly re-applies the penalties of the 1974 narcotics law to any unlicensed cannabis activity. Under that law, unlawfully using cannabis carries 2 months to 1 year in prison and a fine of 500 to 50,000 dirhams, while unlawfully holding or transporting it carries 5 to 10 years and a fine of 5,000 to 500,000 dirhams — so the offence you are charged with matters more than the quantity you have, and carrying cannabis through a Moroccan airport is itself punishable as transporting it. Morocco publishes no amount below which possession is tolerated.

Morocco's 2021 cannabis law does not itself set the penalties for illegal cannabis: article 50 of Law 13-21 expressly re-applies the penalties and security measures of the 1974 narcotics dahir (No. 1-73-282 of 21 May 1974) to anyone who cultivates, produces, processes, manufactures, transports, markets, exports or imports cannabis, its products, seeds or plants without a valid licence from the agency. Under that dahir, unlawfully using a substance or plant classified as a narcotic is punished by 2 months to 1 year in prison and a fine of 500 to 50,000 dirhams, or only one of those two penalties (art. 8) — but unlawfully importing, producing, manufacturing, transporting, exporting or holding one is punished by 5 to 10 years and a fine of 5,000 to 500,000 dirhams (art. 2). Which of those you are charged with therefore matters far more than how much you are carrying, and because transporting appears in the same article as importing, carrying cannabis through Morocco is itself an offence. Facilitating another person's use, whether paid or free and including by providing a place for it, carries 2 to 10 years and a fine of 5,000 to 500,000 dirhams, with the minimum raised to 5 years where the user is 21 or younger (art. 3). Inciting any of these offences, or inciting drug use, carries 1 to 5 years and 500 to 50,000 dirhams (art. 4). An attempt is punished exactly as the completed offence, as is taking part in an association formed to commit one (art. 5), and the court may additionally order a residence ban of 5 to 20 years (art. 7). Growing cannabis outside an authorised perimeter or beyond the authorised area is separately punished by 3 months to 2 years and a fine of 5,000 to 100,000 dirhams (Law 13-21 art. 51), and every penalty in articles 50 to 54 is doubled on a repeat offence within five years (art. 55).

Verified Aug 31, 2026

Carry prescription medication in original packaging with your prescription, and verify with Moroccan authorities that the medication is legal in Morocco.

Medications mailed or couriered into Morocco are impounded by customs and not released.

Verified Jul 12, 2026

Moroccan customs strictly regulate the temporary import or export of firearms, along with drones, religious materials, and antiquities.

Restricted items may be seized; contact a Moroccan consulate before traveling with such items.

Verified Jul 12, 2026

The dirham is a closed currency: declare 100,000 MAD or US$10,000 on entry, exporting dirhams is prohibited, and you can only reconvert dirhams on departure with an exchange receipt.

Undeclared or exported currency can be seized by Moroccan customs.

Verified Jul 12, 2026

Proselytizing is prohibited in Morocco; customs enforce strict rules on religious materials, and US citizens have been arrested, detained, or expelled for trying to engage Moroccans about Christianity.

Arrest, detention, and/or expulsion within 48 hours

Verified Jul 12, 2026

Moroccan customs may enforce strict rules on importing or exporting antiquities; contact the Embassy of Morocco for specific requirements.

Verified Jul 12, 2026

Drinking alcohol in the street, or anywhere in Morocco other than a licensed restaurant or bar, is illegal and can lead to arrest. Alcohol is sold in licensed venues. During Ramadan, eating, drinking, smoking or chewing gum in public during daylight hours may cause offence.

Verified Sep 28, 2026

Photographing anything of military or security interest — palaces, diplomatic missions, government buildings, sensitive facilities — without permission may cause problems with Moroccan authorities.

Problems with authorities; possible detention

Verified Jul 12, 2026

Flying a drone in Morocco is legal only with prior permission from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation. UK government travel advice tells anyone planning to bring a drone to Morocco that they must obtain that permission to fly it, and that without it they risk fines and confiscation of their equipment. The advice is addressed to travellers, so a tourist carrying a drone needs the same permission as anyone else — there is no visitor exemption in it. Arrange the permission before you travel, because the penalty falls on the equipment in your luggage.

Flying a drone without permission from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation: fines and confiscation of the equipment. The UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office states the risk of fines and confiscation but does not give the amounts.

Verified Sep 29, 2026

Consensual same-sex sexual relations are criminalized in Morocco.

Fines and up to 3 years' imprisonment

Verified Jul 12, 2026