Ketama hash: the story of the Rif's hash, from kif to modern resin
By the Golden High teamUpdated 11 October 20268 min read
The hash of the Rif
Ketama is a municipality in the Rif mountains, in the Al Hoceima province of northern Morocco, and for decades Ketama hash has been the name given to the hashish that comes from there. It's one of the historic cradles of Moroccan kif: the sultan was already allowing cultivation there around 1890, and hash sifting took hold from the 1960s. Here's its history, how it's traditionally made, what changed with hybrids, and what our New Ketama Delta-P actually is.
New Ketama Delta-P
Soft, pliable, honey-brown resin with an earthy, woody, spicy profile and a sweet note.
From7,90 €View product →
Marocain Hash Delta-P 30%
Firm texture that crumbles, with spicy, earthy notes: the other face of Moroccan hash.
From7,90 €View product →Where is Ketama?
Ketama, in the heart of the Rif.
The word Ketama refers to a municipality, a region and a Berber tribe of the Rif, the mountain range running along the Mediterranean in northern Morocco. The municipality sits in Al Hoceima province, in the Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region. Along with Chefchaouen, it's one of the two names most closely tied to Moroccan cannabis.
When the UNODC ran the first major survey of Moroccan cannabis in 2003, it named Ketama and Bab Berred as the “historic cradles” of production, and the main known places where the powder was turned into hash.
Its history
From the sultans' kif to 1960s hash.
For centuries, Moroccan cannabis wasn't hash at all: it was kif, a mix of cannabis flowers and tobacco smoked locally in long pipes called sebsi. Hash came late. Here are the key milestones.
Around 1890
Sultan Hassan I authorises kif growing for local consumption in five villages of the Ketama, Beni Seddat and Beni Khaled tribes.
1906
The Algeciras Conference hands the tobacco and cannabis monopoly to the Régie marocaine des kifs et tabacs, a French-funded company.
After 1926
After the Rif War led by Abd el-Krim, the Spanish protectorate authorities tolerate cultivation around the original Ketama core.
1932
A dahir of 22 December bans cultivation in the French protectorate. Cannabis from the Rif mountains, in the Spanish zone, escapes the Régie's control.
1960s
Young Western travellers arrive and sifted hash is introduced. Theories differ: a technique brought over from Afghanistan, or a Lebanese method reproduced locally.
2000s
Traditional kif is quickly replaced by far more productive and more potent hybrids.
2021 – 2023
Law 13-21 regulates lawful uses of cannabis (medical, pharmaceutical, industrial). First legal harvest in 2023: 294 tonnes.
Traditional production
Ketama hash: dry, sift, press.
Ketama hash is a dry-sifted hash. The UNODC's 2003 survey describes the process step by step, in the growers' own words.
Dry and store
Plants are dried after harvest, then stored in bundles called mechmoum, sometimes for several months.
Sift
The dry plants are sifted to collect the trichome powder, the chira. Its quality depends on how fine the sieve is and how many passes are made.
Press
The powder is pressed (ziare), heated or not, into slabs, usually of 250 grams.
The yield is low: for the most common grade of powder, called sandouk, it took 100 kg of raw cannabis to get 6 to 7 kg of powder. It's the same logic as modern dry sift, taken further with finer screens: we explain it in static hash and dry sift. To place Ketama among all the resins, also read what hash really is.
What the sources say
The Rif in numbers, then and now.
Rif cannabis has been studied by the United Nations, by geographers and by the French drug observatory (OFDT). Here are the most solid reference points.
UNODC · 2003 survey
About 134,000 hectares of cannabis across the five provinces surveyed, 50% of it in Chefchaouen province, 19% in Taounate and 17% in Al Hoceima. Estimated potential: 3,080 tonnes of hash.
L'Espace Politique · 2008
Geographer Pierre-Arnaud Chouvy traces the privileges granted to the Ketama tribes and dates the introduction of sifted hash to the mid-1960s.
International Journal of Drug Policy · 2014
Chouvy and Kenza Afsahi show that since the early 2000s traditional kif has been replaced by hybrids yielding three to five times more resin, and far more potent.
OFDT · 2024
Resin seized in France averaged 29.6% THC in 2024, up from 15.9% in 2012. The OFDT links the rise to hybrid strains developed in Europe and sold on to Moroccan growers.
In other words, today's “ketama” often has little in common with the kif of the 1960s, either genetically or in potency. References at the bottom of the page.
Beldia vs hybrids
Beldia, the plant of the Rif.
Beldia is what Rif growers call their traditional variety, the one behind old-school kif. Long pushed aside by hybrids, it's making a comeback through legal channels: Morocco's cannabis regulatory agency (ANRAC) has authorised its controlled cultivation in the Al Hoceima region for industrial, cosmetic and pharmaceutical uses.
| Beldia (traditional kif) | Modern hybrids | New Ketama Delta-P | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Origin | Local Rif variety | Imported genetics, often from Europe | European hemp resin |
| Resin yield | Low | Three to five times higher | — |
| Potency | Moderate | Much higher | Delta-P, content varies by batch |
| THC | Present | High | Below 0.3% |
| Status in France | Controlled drug | Controlled drug | Lab-tested product, sold in our shop |
In Morocco, Law 13-21 only allows medical, pharmaceutical and industrial uses: recreational cannabis use remains illegal there. 2023 legal harvest: 294 tonnes in the provinces of Chefchaouen, Taounate and Al Hoceima, according to ANRAC as reported by Le360.
The taste
Earthy, spicy, “old school”.
The “Ketama taste” is more a reputation than a measurement: an earthy, spicy, sometimes woody profile linked to traditional sifted Moroccan hash, far from the sweet or fruity resins of recent years. Texture depends on pressing and heating: from firm and crumbly to soft and pliable.
- On the nose: earth, spice, wood, sometimes a sweet note.
- To the touch: anywhere from firm and crumbly to soft enough to work between your fingers.
A name is not an origin. “Ketama”, “Moroccan” or “Rif” often describe a style. On the illicit market, nothing guarantees the origin or composition of a resin sold under that name.
And at Golden High?
New Ketama: the style, in Delta-P.
Our New Ketama Delta-P is not hash from the Rif. It's a Delta-P resin made from European hemp, under 0.3% THC and lab-tested batch by batch, that recreates the profile people associate with traditional Moroccan resins: earthy, woody, spicy, with a subtle sweet note. The texture is soft, pliable and slightly oily, honey-brown with amber highlights.
If you prefer a firmer Moroccan, Marocain Hash Delta-P 30% crumbles easily. All our resins are in the Delta-P hash collection, and our Delta-P resin guide helps you choose.
Warm it slightly
A soft resin is easier to work when it's warm between your fingers: no need for a direct flame.
Small amounts
Start low, especially if you're new to Delta-P, and wait until you feel the effect before having more.
Never behind the wheel
No driving after consuming, whatever the product. Adults only.
Your questions
What people ask us about Ketama.
What is Ketama hash?
Ketama is a municipality and region of the Rif, in Morocco's Al Hoceima province, the historic cradle of kif and later of hash. By extension, “ketama” is used for a traditionally styled sifted Moroccan resin.
What kind of drug is Ketama?
Ketama is hash, meaning sifted and pressed cannabis resin. When it contains THC, it's a controlled drug in France.
Where is Ketama in Morocco?
In the central Rif mountains, Al Hoceima province, Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region, in the north of the country.
How is Ketama hash made?
According to the UNODC, the plants are dried, stored in bundles, sifted to collect the trichome powder (chira), then pressed, heated or not, into slabs usually weighing 250 grams.
What's the difference between Beldia and hybrids?
Beldia is the local variety behind traditional kif. Hybrids, which arrived from the 2000s onwards, produce three to five times more resin and much more THC, according to research by Chouvy and Afsahi.
Is cannabis legal in Morocco?
Only for medical, pharmaceutical and industrial uses, regulated by Law 13-21 of 2021 and by ANRAC. Recreational use remains illegal.
Why is Moroccan hash stronger than it used to be?
Because traditional kif has been replaced by hybrids. In France, seized resin went from an average of 15.9% THC in 2012 to 29.6% in 2024, according to the OFDT.
Is New Ketama Delta-P Moroccan hash?
No. It's a Delta-P resin made from European hemp, under 0.3% THC and lab-tested batch by batch, that recreates the aromatic profile of traditional Moroccan resins.
Sources
The references cited in this article.
- UNODC and Kingdom of Morocco (2003). Cannabis survey 2003 – Morocco (in French).
- L'Espace Politique (2008). Cannabis and hashish production in Morocco: context and issues (in French).
- International Journal of Drug Policy (2014). Hashish revival in Morocco.
- OFDT (2026). The supply of illicit drugs in France in 2024 – summary note (in French).
- ANRAC. Law 13-21 on lawful uses of cannabis; Le360 (2024), In 2023, the first legal cannabis harvest totalled 294 tonnes (in French).
- Wikipedia. Cannabis au Maroc, Cannabis in Morocco and Ketama (history, municipality, region and tribe).
- Khalifa Genetics. Beldia, the Endangered Moroccan Landrace (the local Rif variety).
