Over the past years in the EU countries such as Holland, Spain and in the Americas such as United States, Canada and Uruguay a multitude of cannabis dispensaries and even cannabis associations have adopted dispensaries or associations for recreational use of marijuana; a cannabis association is an establishment where marijuana is distributed and consumed in a recreational way. Within these places you can buy a barbarity of marijuana strains, extracts and creams and even space cakes and varied food made with marijuana. Considering that the American associations are completely legal and more accepted, the ones we have in Spain differ quite a bit.

Spain has places and establishments where partners can buy marijuana and consume it in a private setting, if they are of legal age or in many cases, over 18. These associations work not-for-profit, which means that all the money raised is spent on improving and maintaining the association.

Barcelona

The membership for a cannabis club in a Barcelona generally work in the following way; some cannabis associations require you to be over 18 and to be a regular consumer of marijuana for recreational or medical, also you have to be introduced by someone who is already a member of the association this way they guarantee that you are an active smoker and also that you are not intending to resell what you are provided with.

Most likely to get an interview for membership in a Barcelona club, they also require an annual subscription, which will vary from association to association, and it is important to mention that you will have to present an identification document such as ID, NIE(foreigner residence permit) or passport.

Also, many people wonder if there is a way to join a cannabis club in Barcelona that does not require membership and the answer is no, since you need to be registered in order to enjoy the benefits of any coffee shop in the town.

Is it legal?

The issue of the legality of a cannabis club or associations in Spain/Barcelona is one that has been debated for years, with Catalonia and the Basque Country being the two communities that have fought the most to maintain it. After the years there have been many cases of Barcelona cannabis clubs that have been closed by the police due to the non-compliance with various rules imposed; you can only consume cannabis inside the association premises, you cannot take certain amounts out as it would imply a fine or even a penalty to be executed depending on the scenario.

The more members a coffee shop has, the more interest it tends to generate for the police; the moment the association becomes considered a drug-trafficking situation, i.e. there is profit-making for one of the parties involved, the police can proceed to close the association. Be careful when requesting membership at a cannabis club in Barcelona as some few places might bring you an inconvenient situation by disappearing from the map or having the police break in to research for criminal material, but do not worry as you will not suffer any charge or penalty if you are a legit member with ID card and membership card just smoking your pot inside if that happens.

All money earned by the association must be invested in the association itself. Some associations sell herb grown by them, and other associations require their partners to be self-cultivators, the association being simply where they go to consume it.

There is a legal vacuum here, which is not very clear whether you can grow marijuana or not. Under the most recent laws, you can’t use or grow marijuana in sight on public roads. In theory this would imply that it is legal if the consumption or cultivation of marijuana is privately and only for self-consumption and, in addition, plants are not in sight and smells cannot disturb anyone.

Basic information about cannabis club membership in Barcelona

Different from Amsterdam, Barcelona has a system where all cannabis clubs require a membership for every single person that have access to the club either to buy or smoke.

So as we mentioned before you need to request your membership for the club by knowing an inside member or using a valid invite from an inside member where you acknowledge that you are not going to use marijuana for the first time and that you are older than 18 (in some places 21). With that explained then you only need to visit the club with the invitation and an original document in order to register and request your membership.

Keep in mind that by law you are not allowed to leave the club with marijuana in your pockets either buy strains for a friend as this will result in a fine.

That is all the basic information you need to get your membership to a cannabis club in Barcelona.

Also remember that there no such thing as a cannabis club in Barcelona that does not require membership as all places will require you to become a member before you even enter the place.

How many cannabis associations are there in Barcelona?

According to the National Drug Plan, there are around 500 associations throughout the community Catalonia, where we estimate that in Barcelona you can find about 150 or more cannabis clubs to apply membership.

In recent years, the police have condemned several associations throughout Spain, being during the years 2010 until 2016 when more associations and federations were closed; in the Basque Country, in 2015, a club that had more than 290 members was being concounted on the suspicion that marijuana was being trafficked so that it was not left only among the members.

Looking at the current situation, there is still enough left for an official and decent regularization of such partnerships. We are still a long way from having Amsterdam’s famous coffee shops.

Find out in your city with a quick internet search and get an interview for membership with a cannabis club in Barcelona. For sure they’ll accept you as a partner!