Cannabis social clubs in Barcelona may be permanently closed

Barcelona, ​​Spain is home to nearly 200 cannabis clubs, making it one of the hippest global pot destinations for the past half decades. But clubs are facing a mass closure after the Supreme Court changed a loophole in the law – one that allowed them to multiply in the first place, Stephen Burgen reports for the Guardian. The Asociaciónes, as they are commonly known, have suffered a number of setbacks since they opened in 2017, but this is a whole new hurdle that could lead to them being closed for good. Or at least the foreseeable future.

As early as 2017, the court overruled a law passed by the Catalan Parliament stating that “the private use of cannabis by adults … is part of the exercise of the fundamental right to free personal development and freedom of conscience”.

The ruling resulted in the opening of hundreds of cannabis clubs, attracting both tourists and locals to the city in search of a relatively safe, legal place to buy and use cannabis. The facilities were protected by a Barcelona city code or a law passed by a municipality to essentially self-govern that governed their very existence. However, these statutes have just been repealed. The judges said the city authorities were not competent enough to legislate on government-regulated matters.

“The majority of associations believe that sooner or later they will be forced to close,” Eric Asensio, spokesman for the Federation of Catalan Cannabis Associations, told the Guardian. Almost 140 of the Spanish cannabis clubs are located in the northern coastal region of Catalonia, but most of them are in Barcelona.

Despite the city’s support for the quasi-legal status of the Asociaciónes, officials were just telling the clubs that the new regulation officially bans the “sale, consumption and promotion” of the facility. The clubs must now undergo a city inspection to make sure none of them break the law. The first city-appraised storefronts are “the ones with the most negative impact that are geared towards tourists and massive sales.”

The cafes are technically “private member clubs”, but many have opened sales to tourists for a small “membership fee” of around € 10 or $ 11.85. It should be noted that the associations started out as private clubs where members could buy and smoke cannabis on the premises – that made it a celebrated global hotspot for weed. Recently, however, many associations have turned away from this business style in favor of the pharmacy model. Why don’t owners want to sell some of the thousands of pounds in flowers grown in Catalonia? However, it is rumored that Eastern European and other mafia control the growing areas that the clubs supply. If that’s true, then (some) the cannabis unions are essentially fronts for drug money from the mafia. Sigh.

But city officials, police and clubs all agree that the shops reduce street trading and illegal consumption. The cops have even stated that they are basically not averse to the clubs.

“Again, the judiciary is attacking the associations without taking into account the reality of Barcelona, ​​a city that has coexisted with these institutions for more than 30 years,” the association said in a statement. “The Barcelona Associations are a pioneering model in Europe, exported internationally, applying new drug policies that focus on the individual and his or her health.”

The Federation of Catalan Cannabis Associations is working with the City Council to hopefully find a solution to the problem. “What is needed,” says Asensio, “is a legal framework that recognizes the existing reality and, in cooperation with the authorities, maintains the necessary regulatory mechanisms with a clear focus on public health.”

The future of local consumption is unclear considering that Amsterdam plans to close its infamous cannabis cafes sometime in 2022, and now Barcelona’s shops and smoking lounges appear to be closing too. This basically leaves only a few legal places of consumption in the US and Canada to accept cannabis smokers from around the world. Pooh. Do we even have to say it? Ban sucks! But as legalization continues around the world, it will be interesting to see how the adoption of smoking lounges evolves.

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