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14 Barcelona Cannabis Club Insider Secrets

Feature image Barcelona Social Club Insider Secrets

This list of 14 Barcelona cannabis club insider secrets can help you make the most out of your membership at a private social club in Barcelona. Barcelona cannabis clubs are somewhat mysterious, but if you take the time to learn about these marijuana establishments, it’s easy to see that the Spanish model – and particularly the Barcelona model – is the best social club model in the world. However, this type of private cannabis association model is not without its share of secrets that only the most diligent club member is normally privy to – until this article.

***The Top 14 Barcelona Cannabis Club Insider Secrets***

1. THERE ARE NO LEGAL RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS TO JOIN A BARCELONA CANNABIS CLUB

This is perhaps the most pervasive of all the myths surrounding the marijuana clubs in Barcelona, but it’s patently false. There has never been a rule, regulation, or law that stipulates that only Spanish residents can join a private cannabis association in Barcelona or anywhere else in the country. In fact, the reality is that Spain cannot create discriminatory laws against other members of the European Union. So, for EU citizens, this nonexistent requirement will never be a concern in the future, unless Spain takes a page from Britain’s playbook and leaves the EU in some sort of “Spexit.” For more on why there is no residency requirement, see the next point below.

Entrance to the Marimberos Club Barcelona
PHOTO: This is the Marimberos cannabis club in Barcelona, which was prevented from opening at the last minute by changes made by Barcelona’s new incoming administration, led by Ada Colau.

2. THERE ARE NO FEDERAL REGULATIONS FOR CANNABIS CLUBS IN SPAIN

None. The federal government has never given the cannabis club industry legitimacy by creating legislation to regulate them. Private cannabis clubs in Spain exist because of two Constitutional protections; the Right to Privacy and the Right to Association, which will most likely never be changed by lawmakers. Clubs are loosely regulated at a municipal level but they are still based on these Constitutional laws, which means that although the clubs can legally exist, there is no legal basis to regulate them.

3. NO ONE HAS EVER BEEN CRIMINALLY CHARGED OR IMPRISONED IN THE HISTORY OF SPAIN FOR PERSONAL POSSESSION OR CONSUMPTION

It’s never happened. Not one person in the country’s long history has ever been criminally prosecuted or imprisoned because of personal-level possession of cannabis. In fact, personal possession to this day is not against the law. The Constitution offers most of its protection in this regard through the Right to Privacy, but even if you are caught with a personal amount of marijuana in a public setting, it’s still not a crime; it’s a civil infraction worthy of a fine and nothing more.

 

Sign outside Barcelonas Dr Dou Weed Club
PHOTO: The sign outside of Raval’s Dr. Dou cannabis club reminds members to respect the peace & quiet of neighbors.

4. AS A MEMBER, YOU CAN TAKE CANNABIS PRODUCTS OUT OF THE CLUB TO USE IN PRIVATE

There is a misconception proliferated by overly cautious cannabis clubs that authorities do not want members to take cannabis products out of the club. This is simply not true and in fact several judges in Spain have already ruled that private cannabis social clubs are not responsible for policing, storing or tracking the marijuana use of its members. Some clubs advise their members to leave the cannabis in the club, but almost no clubs actually enforce this policy or provide a mechanism or lockable space to do so.

As a member, you can take the weed out of the private club and then take it to your private place, but along the way, you are in public space, which means that you are subject to search and seizure just like anyone else in public; see item #11 below for more on this.

5. STREET PROMOTERS ARE A PROBLEM FOR THE INDUSTRY

In Barcelona, if you walk around Las Ramblas for more than a few minutes, it’s almost certain that a slightly-shady looking character will make eye contact with you and say;

“Coffeeshop?”

If you feed into the scheme, you’ll be taken to one of the worst cannabis clubs in the city, and there’s a reason why these promoters will always take you to subpar clubs; promotion or advertising of private cannabis clubs is illegal.

First, consider the following; as discussed previously in this article, cannabis social clubs in Barcelona exist because of Constitutional privacy protections; the clubs are private by their very nature. If a person can just walk in to a club any time and get membership, is that private? If a person can call out to every passerby on the street offering membership, is that private? The answer to both is a resounding “no,” and if it’s not a private club, then it’s just a business selling drugs in the eyes of the law and it will be treated accordingly.

The Dispensary at HQ Barcelona
PHOTO: The dispensary area at HQ Barcelona (HempQuarters) is tasteful but extremely secure in this exclusive members-only club.

6. TO BE POLITICALLY CORRECT, ASK FOR YOUR SHARE, NOT “HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?”

Barcelona cannabis clubs don’t “sell” cannabis. Instead, each club collectively grows or otherwise acquires cannabis and cannabis products, then each member or socio of the club contributes to help pay for their “share” of the harvest, based on how many grams per month the member instructed the club to grow on their behalf.

Don’t ask how much cannabis costs in the club; instead, refer to “member share.” You can try the following:

How much is the member share for a gram of Amnesia?
What/how much do I contribute for a gram of Zombie Kush?

7. NOT ALL BARCELONA CANNABIS CLUBS GROW THEIR OWN WEED

Due to the substantial risk (robbery and police raids) of operating a cultivation center, some clubs choose to acquire cannabis from other sources and forgo the danger (and rewards) of growing on their own. In fact, there are “associations for associations,” or, “collectives for associations,” where grower/s or supplier/s of cannabis products work together to supply multiple Barcelona cannabis clubs.

Greenardo cannabis social club in Horta - Barcelona
PHOTO: Greenardo is one of the few Barcelona cannabis clubs that offers a medical marijuana program for its members. Located in the Horta barrio of Barcelona, “Greenardo” is a play on the name of a nearby park, Parc Guinardo.

8. YOU CAN BE A MEMBER OF MORE THAN ONE CANNABIS SOCIAL CLUB

Because there is no federal or other regulation governing cannabis clubs, there is technically no limit to the number of cannabis clubs a person can belong to. Cannabis clubs in Barcelona rotate their stock constantly, which means that there will be times when your favorite club might not have the strain or product that works best for you. In this case, you’ll need to be a member of two or more clubs to keep a wide selection of products available. Or perhaps you’d like to belong to a club near where you work, and another club near where you live. There’s nothing stopping you from doing so, and a significant percentage of social club members in Barcelona belong to more than one club.

9. IN MOST CASES ONLY THE PRESIDENT, SECRETARY, AND TREASURER OF A BARCELONA CANNABIS CLUB WILL BE HELD LEGALLY LIABLE

As a regular member of a cannabis club, you will never be subject to penalty for belonging to the club. If the club encounters legal issues, including criminal charges, in nearly all cases only the Board of Directors will face prosecution. In very rare cases, members who were directly working for the club as growers were arrested and prosecuted but to this author’s knowledge, none of the people in these instances served time in jail.

NPK Cannabis Club hosting Dabadoo and Mila Jensen
PHOTO: NPK cannabis club is home to cannabis legends like the Hash Queen Mila Jansen, pictured at center-front. This club is one of only a handful of cannabis clubs in Barcelona that offer an open-air seating area. NPK hosts the exclusive Dabadoo event each year.

10. BARCELONA CANNABIS CLUBS DO NOT GROW ON-SITE

There are no cannabis clubs in Barcelona that grow on-site, as the risk of robbery and police raids is too high.

11. POLICE CANNOT SEARCH YOUR PRIVATE-AREAS WITHOUT A WARRANT

Because it’s not likely that a street cop is Barcelona is going to stop you long enough to get a warrant to search you for a little bit of weed, the best practice when exiting a cannabis club is to place any cannabis products you acquired there into your undergarments. By law, police cannot search your intimate areas without a warrant.

The author testing various strains at the former La Mesa Cannabis Club in Barcelona
PHOTO: The author testing various strains at the former La Mesa cannabis club, which was shut down by authorities in May 2016.

12. NOT ALL STAFF AT CANNABIS CLUBS IN BARCELONA ARE CANNABIS USERS

Most people think that all staff at Barcelona cannabis clubs are cannabis users, but many are not. With 200 cannabis clubs in the immediate region, working at a cannabis club in Catalonia is, for many people, just like working at any other job. A person doesn’t need to be a drinker to work with beer or wine, and most who do are still not experts on the subject. The same is true of cannabis club employees.

13. BARCELONA CANNABIS CLUBS CAN BE “OWNED” BY FOREIGN NATIONALS

Though a Board of Directors doesn’t “own” a private cannabis club, these are the people that are directly responsible for everything the club does, and there is no requirement whatsoever that a Board member needs to be a Spanish resident. In fact, more than half of all clubs in Barcelona feature top Board members who are from other European countries, and in some cases, countries outside of Europe.

Iceolators and cannabis oil made by a collective for associations
PHOTO: Iceolators (bubble hash) and cannabis oils made by a collective that supplies cannabis associations in Barcelona.

14. BARCELONA CANNABIS CLUB CULTIVATION CENTERS ARE STRICTLY TOP-SECRET

Outside of a select few people with positions of extreme trust, grow operations connected to Barcelona’s cannabis clubs are “highly” covert. General members of the club, authorities, even low level Board members are never permitted to see the grow operation or know where it is. In fact, even this author is sometimes blindfolded during transit when providing professional services for grow centers.

To learn more about Barcelona cannabis social clubs, read 10 Things You Need to Know about Barcelona Cannabis Clubs.

Which cannabis clubs in Barcelona are you a member of? Have any additional insider secrets or tips to add to this list? Let us know in the comments section below!

Mendocino Purple Kush as available at Circulo Cannabis Club in Barcelona Spain
PHOTO: The Mendocino Purple Kush strain (ground), available at the Circulo cannabis club in El Born, Barcelona in March 2017.

7 thoughts on “14 Barcelona Cannabis Club Insider Secrets

  1. Dear Russ,

    You are truly inspiring me with all the information available in your posts…
    I have visited Barcelona myself this year and it had an amazing cannabis culture, which to me is impressive.
    I am an Albanian citizen, but based on our laws its impossible to do any business with it.

    I read your article “14 Barcelona Cannabis Club insider secrets” and the thing that was most interesting to me was number 13 -“Barcelona Cannabis Clubs can be owned by foreign nationals…

    You would help me a lot if you can tell me any information about buying and operating a cannabis association in the case the board of directors(investors) are non European citizens, like myself…
    Do i need to own a capital, or to obtain a license what do i need to do.

    Thank you again,
    Matias.

  2. Many Thanks for your reply Russ, No i guess it would not make any sense for them to set me up. So i will be getting the fine to my registered adress in my country then as i wont be here i spain in 2-3 weeks? If i ignore paying this fine, will they be trying to collect next time im in spain?

  3. Hi Russ, i got pulled over by the police yesterday after visiting a CSC green club in Torriveija. It was clearly a setup as they were ready for me as soon as i came around the corner. To make a long story short they searched me and found a prerolled. They checked my id and took a picture of my rentals license plate. After this they said something in spanish took the J and told me to go home and that they are reporting this to my countrys embassy(?). As i did not sign or accept any charges or anything, is it safe to assume that they probably smoked my joint and left it at that…? Should i expect them to hassle me if i run into them around town?Does it happen that CSC’s set people up with the cops for them to leave them alone in return?

    Your input would be much appreciated.
    Thx,
    Sal

    1. Hola Sal; absolutely not; police don’t need the cooperation of clubs and clubs don’t need or want the cooperation of police (at least not in this regard). You think the club might have set you up over a pre-roll? Doesn’t make sense. What you experienced is a practice sometimes used by police all over Spain; they’ll wait for people to come out of a club, then they’ll ask to search them. It’s easy and it generates money for the locality. Despite the fact that you did not sign anything, you can expect a fine or ticket to arrive at your registered address within the next 2-3 weeks. You’ll be given a certain period of time to payoff the fine to receive a discount, or pay the full fine.

      As far as reporting you to your country’s embassy, that’s pure bullshit meant to scare you. This does not happen and there is no mechanism anywhere for this type of petty “reporting.” What you did is not a crime in Spain, so how exactly are the police going to report a non-crime to anyone? They won’t; they’re full of crap. You’ll get your fine and you can pay it or ignore it, depending on your situation.

      In the future, ensure that if you take any cannabis products out of a cannabis club, that you transport those items in your undergarments; Spanish police cannot search there without a warrant. Best wishes. Peace -Russ

  4. Hello, Russ! Great article!

    I’ve a doubt: if they don’t grow the plants on-site, how do they manage to transport the final product?

    Is this legal? Is it something foreseen? Let’s say that I’m transporting this week harvest to the club I manage and get caught by the police. It would be just a matter of showing them that this pertains to a club or I could be prosecuted as an illegal drug dealer anyway??

    Thanks a lot, buddy!

  5. Hi Russ.

    Whilst I have had a number of good experiences in my local cannabis club, my most recent was a bit of a let down.

    After making my way through the entrance and to the dealing counter I proceeded to read the menu and decide which strains I would be purchasing.

    I am quite careful with my decisions and like to ask the staff a few basic questions about the strains, i.e what has been popular, if they have a favourite etc etc.
    After not really getting much information with my basic questions I decided to go for a a few different strains – an indica, a sativa and a ‘popular’ blend.

    While the staff member was weighing my goods I continued to read more of the menu and inspect some of the other goods on offer. Suddenly, she
    handed one plastic baggy to me and rushed off.
    I was a bit confused that all the strains were mixed into the one bag and would have asked which was which so that I could at least separate them and identify them myself… however with the speed that the attendant left me standing there I didn’t get the chance.

    I am not sure if I am being a bit of a whinger here, but I would have thought that clearly separating strains is a pretty basic service that the club would provide and certainly in the interests of responsible use!

    I will be back to the club again and next time I will pay more attention when the staff are bagging up my herbs!

    On the plus side, I have noticed that this club in particular now stocks over 15 different strains – compared to around 5 at the time of joining late 2016.

    Cheers
    Grant

    1. Hola Grant; If i remember correctly, you joined Circulo back in November 2016; I assume you are talking about this club? This comment is best posted in an article mentioning this club; this article is about 14 insider secrets and doesn’t have much to do with this particular issue. In any case, if the clerk rushed off in a hurry, has it occurred to you that there may have been something urgent calling her away? I don’t know what the situation was and it sounds like you don’t either, but I can tell you that in most cases a dispensary clerk won’t put more than one strain in one bag, without separating it with little pieces of paper. If she didn’t do this and rushed off, it sounds like something was wrong that she needed to attend to. I can’t do anything about it as you haven’t said which club or when this was…it may not even be Circulo as I was thinking; at no time has this club only stocked 5 strains so I’m really unsure how to help…

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