Morocco's king pardons more than 4,800 cannabis farmers

Cannabis plants are pictured in a field near the town of Ketama in Morocco's northern Rif region. [Getty Images]

Morocco's King Mohammed VI has pardoned more than 4,800 farmers accused of illegally growing cannabis, the justice ministry said Monday.

The monarch "has kindly granted pardon to 4,831 people convicted, prosecuted or wanted in cases linked to the cultivation of cannabis," the ministry said in a statement.