According to official data from the Spanish Ministry of Health, obtained through a survey among 22.5 thousand people, marijuana consumption continues to increase in the country. Nearly 7.3% (or 2.2 million) of its residents aged 15 to 64 smoke at least one joint per month, and 2.1% do so daily.
Marijuana is the only drug whose popularity is growing steadily in Spain, not only due to the availability of the final product, but also to the completely legal business of selling cannabis seeds and all related products needed for growing at home. “Mini -plantation ” in an apartment or backyard of a house is a fairly common phenomenon, although the process of plant cultivation requires certain knowledge, costs and efforts.
Spanish legislation does not clearly specify the number of plants grown; it is believed that you can keep at home two cannabis bushes of any kind per adult family member, although in practice there have been cases when one two-meter “tree” was outlawed, and more than twenty bushes fit the definition of “for personal use”. But the amount of the final product should not exceed 40 grams per person, and we are talking about ready-to-use marijuana – its dried inflorescences (“cones”).
On March 30, 2015, the Spanish Law for the Protection of the Security of Citizens (Article 36, Paragraph 18) was amended to prohibit the cultivation of cannabis, including for own consumption, if the plants are visible from the street. For violation of this provision, a fine of 601 to 30,000 euros is imposed, as well as for the use of the finished product in public places. In fact, in almost every city where there is a large influx of tourists , a persistent smell of marijuana is felt not only in secluded lanes, but also on embankments, bus stops, and even in summer outdoor cafes.
However, not all local cannabis users consider it acceptable to buy marijuana from their hands – not only because of their reluctance to come into conflict with the law, but also because of the risk of getting a “pig in a poke”. An alternative to this is self-cultivation of cannabis , since it is easy and simple to purchase seeds of the desired variety, and also relatively cheap (on average from 3–3.5 per seed).
Along with seeds, fertilizers, lighting devices, soil, pots, smoking accessories, you can get comprehensive advice, as well as literature on this topic: on the pages of the Spanish newspapers Soft Secrets and El Cultivador, you can find a wide variety of information, ranging from an overview of modern technologies and ending with practical recommendations for “guerrilla” cultivation – i.e. hidden from prying eyes as much as possible. In addition, in free sale you can find the monthly Cannabis Magazine, which provides its readers with comprehensive information about cannabis .
Now in Spain there are about 1100 so-called “growshops” (from the English grow – “grow” and shop – “shop”), dispersed throughout all the autonomies, and among the provinces the undisputed leaders are Valencia (137) and Barcelona (136). At the same time, it should be borne in mind that the number of such establishments is constantly changing, because. by no means all their owners resist the temptation to trade in finished products, which is already fraught with criminal liability. Some of the stores are just legal fronts for drug trafficking hubs , through which large shipments of marijuana go to other EU countries.
Sometimes the owners of “growshops” manage not only to work without a proper license , but even arrange illegal “coffee shops” at their own risk, where customers can “relax” in a quiet corner. This can be done quite quietly and legally in the so-called “cannabis social clubs”, which are non-profit organizations that unite “weed” smokers. However, in order to join such a club (only in Catalonia there are about 400 of them registered with a total number of members of about 165 thousand people), you must be over 18 years old, fully capable, as well as make a cash deposit and get the recommendation of one of its current members, who confirm that the candidate is a regular consumer “product”. If a person smokes marijuana for medicinal purposes, a certificate from a doctor will be sufficient, which will attest to the presence of a particular disease. In any case, club membership is a kind of “coming out of the shadows”, which can sometimes have a negative impact on social status.
It is worth noting that in Spain there are such establishments as coffee shops. You can find out how to become a member of some of them at https://barcelonacoffeeshops.club/
In such establishments, you can smoke marijuana, but it is not recommended to take it outside.
Roberto, the owner of one “grow shop “, whose business has been flourishing in Spain for the ninth year, agreed to comment on the current situation with the independent cultivation of cannabis for his own consumption.
– Opening your own “growshop” is not so difficult – with competent legal support, the whole process will not take more than two months. More time and effort will be required to establish a cannabis social club. In this case, you can no longer do without the help of a team of lawyers specializing in this issue.
Of course, all “groshops ” and social clubs are under close scrutiny by the police, although everything depends on the reputation of the store. For example, they come to me with checks no more than three times a year, and someone is visited much more often. In this business, it is impossible not to be “transparent”, because if someone starts selling finished products, this becomes known almost immediately.
My regular customers are aware of the existing “policy” and come here specifically for cannabis seeds and related products. There are no restrictions on the sale of seeds, and even if a person buys a hundred seeds, this is his personal business – the “grosshop” is not responsible for what he will do with them when he leaves the door.