Cannabis social clubs in Catalonia – A European model of cannabis legalisation?

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Cannabis social clubs in Catalonia – A European model of cannabis legalisation?

27 August 2015

This video shows an interview with a Catalan cannabis activist, about how political attitudes to cannabis are changing in Spain.

In the United States, with each passing year, more and more states decide to create a legal, regulated market for medical and recreational marijuana. Many may ask: why is Europe lagging behind in cannabis reform? Well, things are happening more slowly on this side of the Atlantic, but we can see some inspiring recent examples of successful cannabis reform advocacy. Many people are aware of the Portuguese decriminalisation model, but far fewer know about the cannabis social clubs in Spain. Cannabis social clubs are legal non-profit associations created by cannabis consumers to grow and use cannabis on a collective basis. The fact that these clubs can operate in a more or less legal way, and are more or less tolerated by the authorities, is the product of a decades-long grassroot movement of activists. The first club was opened in 1994, with 100 people signing an agreement to cultivate 200 cannabis plants. The club was almost immediately closed down by the police, but inspired subsequent generations of cannabis activists. By early 2014, there were 11 federations throughout Spain, serving as umbrella organisations for a significant proportion of all the cannabis social clubs, accounting for between 800 and 1000 legally constituted entities.

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