Explore the Best Cannabis Clubs in Barcelona

In a nutshell, according to Spanish law:

• It is illegal to sell or buy marijuana, hashish, and other cannabis products;
• It is forbidden to possess/store marijuana and/or its products;
• It is prohibited to consume marijuana in publicly accessible areas, in open view.

Though the legislative limitations that you need to know, it’s also stated that:

• It’s legal to grow 2 plants and consume cannabis in the private placement, but in a way that nobody sees you;
• It’s allowed to become a member of a cannabis club (this is not the same thing as a coffeeshop) and consume cannabis and its products within its walls.

Cannabis clubs or as they are commonly called in Spain Associations — Las Asociaciones de Cannabis or Cannabis Social Clubs are non-profit, social and recreational organizations where marijuana is grown with a donation to be shared and consumed strictly among the members.

The only access to the club are members: these are organizations private and closed to other people. Membership is granted: only if you are sponsored by an existing member of the association or endorsed by the club itself.

That means you can’t just walk in off the street without an invitation — you’ll be rejected. This is an important difference between Spanish cannabis clubs and the public coffeeshops in Amsterdam.

It seems like it is rather complicated, but in fact, it is much simpler than it first appears. Formalities like invitations, referral of existing members and club memberships are necessary measures to be in line with the strict requirements of the law.

In general, the process of acquiring marijuana in a club is the same kind of bargain as in the format of an Amsterdam coffee shop, except for one important difference. There is no concept of selling/buying, only in terms of willing membership contributions. Thus, here it’s awkward to use the word “buy”, instead say “get”, “have”, or “try”.

Joining the club, you pay a yearly membership fee, which is commonly 20€. If you’d like to get 1 gram of marijuana, an additional donation of 10-15€ for strains and up to 50€ for extracts and concentrates is needed.

ID is always requested for both new and already registered members for age verification: to confirm that you are an adult of 18 or 21. It’s also necessary to comply with the KYC (know your customer) rule, the clubs must verify your identity before granting membership and/or letting you in. For the same reason, the club will ignore any of your attempts to find out anything by phone or email, all the questions will be answered at the reception desk — everything is eyes only and after you provide your ID/passport.