Barcelona cannabis clubs have dealt a new blow from the Spanish Supreme Court

Barcelona are still struggling to keep their old cannabis clubs open despite a recent blow from the Supreme Court.

The battle for recreational cannabis is entering a new phase in Spain. Last week the Supreme Court closed the loophole in federal law created by city officials in Barcelona that gives cannabis clubs a legal space to operate.

The judges have ruled that city officials who have previously supported the clubs are not empowered to legislate on such matters. Since most cannabis clubs in Spain are located in Barcelona, ​​this decision is a gauntlet and is thrown onto the entire discussion from a high level.

If this happened in the United States, it would essentially be like the city of Denver going against the federal government to sell cannabis without the protection of, albeit with, a state vote to amend the constitution and a Cole memo, for example a few less SWAT crews.

The fact is that Catalonia, the Spanish state where Barcelona is located, has long had a separatist tendency, which is why the city has long since given up the existence of clubs.

But it’s not just city officials who stand up for the clubs. The police also agree with the idea of ​​even having clubs – also because they contain crime.

In other words, this is familiar territory for anyone used to the dichotomies and frequent setbacks of cannabis reform. The difference is why the Spanish judiciary, if not the legislature, seems so determined to take a hard line in an environment where Holland (for starters) finally seems to be swimming with the flow.

Courtesy Shutterstock

Barcelona: A split between federal and state authorities

Some of the issues at stake are familiar to those of American descent who had a seat at the ring about seven years ago on similar subjects. In Spain, the war against clubs at the federal level began in 2017 (also in the year Germany changed its medical cannabis law) when the Supreme Court repealed a Catalan state law that allowed the private use of cannabis as an exercise of the fundamental right to free personal development.

The Catalans are not alone in Spain with their support for cannabis use in the club model, which the Spanish have promoted just as much as the Dutch have culturally influenced the debate with cafés. In fact, there is also organization in the Basque Country to ensure that the clubs can stay open.

Regardless of how popular the idea is among the population and even politically at the municipal and state level, the court has ruled against the entire wax ball at a sovereign level. This is of course even more devastating in an environment in which the European Court of Justice at the regional level also refused certification to Albert Tió, the organizer of the club movement, at the beginning of the year.

Why is Spain taking such a hard line?

The legal battle against the associations at the federal level in Spain comes at a curious time in Europe. Even if the judiciary at EU level refused to face the reality of leisure reform this spring, events on the ground across Europe are developing very differently than current events in Spain would otherwise suggest.

In Switzerland, providers are starting to register their products for the upcoming leisure test, and beyond the EU border, Luxembourg is also preparing for a momentum. These developments, and not the fact that, unsurprisingly, the Portuguese sprint to the leisure finish line, relieve the decision of the Spanish court even more.

Here is one possible reason. The only people allowed to manufacture certified medical cannabis are authorized to do so by AEMPS, the Spanish agency for medicine and hygiene products. This means that only four licenses are available and all of them are held by powerful people and companies. In addition, all cannabis produced under these licenses must also be intended for export to another country.

The current situation is not unlike Holland, where there is a similar dichotomy, and it has been for decades. In contrast to Holland, which is essentially in the same boat (with only one state-licensed medical manufacturer – the private company Bedrocan) and where officials are finally regulating the coffee shops on a national level, at least the Spanish judiciary seems determined to follow up on the clubs below.

It is indeed an odd fold in Europe that is becoming decidedly pro-cannabis, but also one where the old laws persist – as well as a highly conservative judiciary and political class determined to wait as long as possible before going she even advocates cannabis the medicinal type.

Europe follows the UN

One thing is clear. Officials and judges at both federal and regional levels come to conclusions and judgments based on the international definition of cannabis, which remains a List I drug due to a lack of action by the WHO over the past year.

As a result, it is still largely unclear how quickly cannabis reform will take place in certain European countries and in what way. National elections in Germany this fall do not seem to be moving the needle in any direction worth mentioning. Lawsuits are only so far. The French are pushing CBD reform thanks to lawsuits.

Here is the good news for the Spaniards and those local who are waging a war that is only just heating up. In Spain, too, the tide is finally turning on the CBD front.

And despite this rather devastating legal setback, the war is far from over in Barcelona, ​​even if it could be noticeably more difficult for tourists to join a club. You also have to remember that. The effects of COVID, which will also affect the pace of reform on this issue almost everywhere, are still not really being felt.

Despite the bad news, the battle in Barcelona, ​​if not the Catalan, is far from over, let alone the war. It only took a little break as events move forward elsewhere.