New Legal Setback Threatens to Close Cannabis Clubs in Barcelona
About 200 cannabis clubs in the second largest city of Spain are ready to close shop and move on after a court decision that has made their operation illegal.
Spain, Europe’s most popular vacation destination, attracts, among others, from 6.5 to 12.5 million cannabis enthusiasts every year who come here to enjoy weed legally. Or almost legally. The country’s famous model of cannabis clubs has been operating in the grey area because the law in Spain and especially in Catalonia has so far permitted adult consumption of weed behind closed doors.
Why Were Cannabis Clubs Legal in Spain in the First Place?
There is a law once passed by the Catalan parliament that recognizes the recreational use of cannabis by adults as their fundamental right. And since the law permits private consumption, it also tolerates cannabis use in groups.
Initially, cannabis clubs were supposed to be such closed groups of people where some of the members cultivated cannabis to be also consumed by other members. However, the ambiguity of the law created a loophole that made these private clubs into regular bars where adults could freely buy a membership card. The membership fee was as low as €10 ($11.8) and sometimes went toward the first purchase.
As a result, cannabis clubs proliferated in many of Spain’s provinces, most notably Catalonia, and its capital, Barcelona, was home to almost 70% of Catalan ‘asociaciónes’.
The Most Serious in a Succession of Setbacks
Eric Asensio, spokesman for CatFac, the Federation of Cannabis Associations of Catalonia, said that most of the associations knew that one day they would have to seal their premises. It all started in 2017 when the Supreme Court overruled the law permitting the existence of cannabis clubs.
For a while, clubs in Barcelona continued to operate under the city’s ordinance, but the recent court decision puts an end to this because, according to the judge, the authorities of the city are not competent to legislate on matters that are a prerogative of the state.
The backlash may be due to the fact that some of the associations have become big businesses, catering to tourists and sometimes sourcing their cannabis from Eastern European and other criminal groups.
On the other hand, city managers and police admit that Spain’s pioneering model of social clubs has reduced street dealing and violent crime associated with it. Be it as it may, authorities are now getting ready to begin inspecting the clubs in Barcelona, “starting with the ones with the most negative impact and which are geared towards tourists and massive sales”.
