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The situation of marijuana in Spain.

What is the situation of cannabis in Spain?

Currently cannabis is under a decriminalized condition in Spain, where it can smoke the plant within private associations or at home1 which does not mean it is legal to posses it or smoke in public places.

According to CIS data, in Spain 84% of citizens are in favor of the legalization of cannabis with fine therapies and 47% defend its legalization being recreational or medical. The Ministry of Health figures at 7.3% the percentage of Spanish who have declared to have used marijuana in the last month, which translates into 322,000 citizens. The Spanish Observatory for Medicinal Cannabis (OEDCM) estimates that the number of patients who use cannabis for therapeutic purposes currently reaches 120,000 people.

It is common to know people that plant marijuana in their house without being sanctioned as well, this is since marijuana cultivation is legal, if it is not exposed visually for the public and it is limited to a certain number of plants per person in the flat. If we look at articles 18 and 22 of our Constitution, they tell us about the right to privacy and that of association, respectively. These rights are those that allow the planting in private spaces (such as our house or in clubs and associations) to be legal. Citizens of Spain have the right to plant at home or in any private space what we want without being disturbed by the authorities, (within some limits, of course); and the right to be part of any non-profit association that follows established rules.

From an economic perspective, all the forecasts are spectacular. But limiting we to the present, a sample is enough. Spannabis has been held in Barcelona since 2002, the largest cannabis fair in Europe with 18,000 square meters, nearly 300 participating companies and some 30,000 visitors in its last edition, held in 2018. Such is its value that in 2019 the American group High Times announced the acquisition of the SME that organizes the event, La Feria del Cáñamo SL, for eight million dollars. Although the agreement did not finally come to fruition, the Americans estimated the income of the Spanish company at 2.3 million euros in 2017.

1 You can smoke at home if there is no neighbor complain about smoke, smell, or even exaggerated noise.

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