The Law on Cannabis in Spain.

From 1st July the law in Spain has decriminalised the cultivation of cannabis for personal use. This does not mean that we can pull our olive trees up and embark on a Mr  Nice type business of growing and selling weed. What the law is saying is that it is now okay to cultivate the plant, providing it is not on show and not in a public place. The law will now only punish you if you are openly displaying your 'greens plants.'  If you are caught displaying your plants in public the fine is 601 euros. You can if you wish take photographs of your plants, put them on instagram, facebook, twitter  or wherever-just don't stick them in your window box for all to see.

The selling of cannabis is still illegal, and trafficking the plant is punishable by law-however personal use is not, but to date there is no distinction between therapeutic and recreational use,  a prescription is required for therapeutic use. It is important to point out that the definition of personal use is open to debate-and is up to the individual officer to determine this. So basically, a group of noisy teenagers puffing away or any abuse will not be seen favourably.

Recently there has been talk of Barcelona becoming the new 'Holland' as there are now over 200 private Cannabis clubs in the city. The operative word is 'private' unlike Amsterdam effectively, you do not buy weed from these clubs but buy a share in what it costs to grow the plants. You become a member of a cooperative-paying an annual fee for the privilege.  You also need a Spanish residential address, and ID such as NIE number or passport.

A word of warning there is a restriction on the amount of cannabis you can obtain from these clubs each month, presently the limit is 98 grams a month-don;t try pull a fast one and make yourself a member of multiple  clubs-if you do you will be under investigation.

The law on cannabis changes all the time in Spain so best to check it out before you start buying grow-bags, and erecting the poly-tunnel.