Will new regulations help or harm cannabis social clubs in Spain?

Spain is an exciting cannabis hub. In Barcelona and other parts of the country, membership-only clubs can be joined to grow and smoke cannabis. The laws regarding such clubs are flexible, but we need to consider whether such laws support violent crimes.

The country has a permissive attitude towards marijuana. Personal marijuana use was decriminalized in the 1970s and in Barcelona; find a statue of Christopher Columbus holding two cannabis plants. Columbus was a well-known hemp consumer who used it in various ways and is credited with smuggling it into Europe.

Hence, it is safe to say that cannabis is part of Spanish culture and history and is becoming more and more evident in Barcelona’s cannabis social clubs. These are non-profit clubs that allow their members to bask in the feeling of growing and smoking cannabis in a legal space.

However, due to a lack of laws with poor enforcement, the permits issued by the clubs are prone to abuse by criminal groups. This situation is a challenge that threatens the safe use of cannabis and one must ask what can be done?

Cannabis Social Clubs in Spain

Cannabis social clubs in Spain, especially Barcelona, ​​were created due to the soft legislation in Spain instead of the legislation or decriminalization in other countries.

Ideally, a cannabis club in Spain should be a non-profit group of people who meet to pay maintenance fees, grow cannabis, and smoke. Selling cannabis in these clubs is illegal as membership fees are intended to cover the clubs’ operating costs.

There are many such clubs (up to hundreds) with some bearing the official label and others still operating under the radar. Weeds grown by club members should not exceed 3 grams per person for personal use.

The rise in cannabis tourism in Spain

Since it is legal for club members to grow, distribute and smoke cannabis, do you have to consider who is a member? The lack of laws and guidance at member clubs in Spain makes it vulnerable to cannabis for people with wrong intentions.

As a benefit, the clubs allow people over the age of 18 to get clean and legal weed and to create a friendly environment. One of the downsides is that it changes the culture of the clubs. The culture revolves around people enjoying cannabis legally to those with larger memberships who need to ensure that their members receive a constant supply of cannabis.

To organized crime get into the mix

With larger memberships, the clubs have shown that they have profit potential, which is problematic because they are not supposed to make a profit. The increasing membership of the club means that it is becoming difficult for them to grow weeds for their members.

If they cannot provide good weed to their members, they will have to source the weed from larger farms, which is illegal. The larger farms serve cannabis clubs and coffee shops that are used by criminals.

The criminals use the business as a camouflage, but over time they become more and more dangerous and have only one goal: to make a profit. Spain is also developing into one of the world’s largest cannabis exporters within Europe. If criminals take power over the clubs, it will damage the country’s cannabis reputation.

Laws enacted for the personal use of cannabis are now being targeted by criminals to facilitate international drug trafficking for profit.

What can be done

The Spanish authorities can respond to this challenge in a number of ways, from stricter to flexible legislation. Regardless of their choice of action, they have to implement solutions seriously, otherwise the situation will worsen.

Legislation can also be expanded and relaxed to allow cannabis to be grown for profit. The argument for this solution is that once profit is legalized, the criminal element will subside. However, Spain is reluctant to take this step as no other country in Europe has legalized cannabis.

But the promotion of cannabis is illegal, which is why some experts are calling for partial legalization, which is more focused on scrutinizing the clubs and the cannabis use of their members. Since the problem lies with the clubs, all legislative efforts should be directed towards them.

New laws are needed for the police to be effective in prosecuting offenders. Although commercial cannabis production is still illegal in Spain, the police are still unable to properly prosecute criminals.

The maximum sentence for someone who illegally grows marijuana is two years or less; if this sentence is increased, the police will take stronger action against the perpetrators. Another problem facing the police is the distinction between legal and illegal growth, which can be corrected by laws separating the criteria for criminal and legal growth.

Some experts suggest that Spain needs stricter laws affecting the way cannabis clubs should operate. Stricter laws will determine which cannabis possession is illegal or legal and which clubs can grow up to 150 kg of dried weed annually.

Legislation should also ensure that clubs enforce a 15-day waiting period between application and acceptance of membership. The 15-day period allows clubs to conduct due diligence on potential members.

Clubs should also register carriers who move their cannabis from the farms to the club’s location. These legislative reforms will allow clubs to stay within set limits that protect them from abuse.

Bottom line

On the surface, having a relaxed attitude towards using and growing cannabis in Spain is fantastic. The law was created to give them the right to grow and smoke cannabis when they wish: the state is taking a more liberal stance on it.

But this vague legislation and its limited enforcement against crime had enabled organized criminal gangs to abuse these freedoms for profit, rather than allowing people to enjoy cannabis.

Legitimate clubs are now being searched by the police or having trouble with gangs and this has changed the atmosphere with cannabis in Spain. From a relaxed and laid back cannabis country to a tense country threatening the fate of liberal cannabis in Spain.

Tightened police laws and broader laws to protect these clubs are some of the strategic methods that can be used to restore the fun cannabis situation that was once the pride of Spain.

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