Marijuana in Spain can only be used in research, medicine, or science with the permission of the Spanish Agency for Medicines and Medical Devices (AEMPS). Nine research companies have permission to grow marijuana in Spain from AEMPS now. Another five companies are licensed to produce and/or manufacture cannabis and cannabis products for medical and scientific purposes. Five for crops for research purposes, where one is for content lower than 0.2% THC, one license is for educational cultivation only, and two for medical cultivation.
Marijuana companies can obtain the following approvals from AEMPS:
- Cultivation of marijuana for research purposes for the production of cannabis varieties or seeds for therapy purposes or for the study of the physical and/or pharmacological properties of marijuana and its products
- Cultivation of marijuana for purposes of medicine and science
People with sclerosis, cancer, or other chronic pain diseases can only get marijuana-based drugs with a doctor’s prescription.
However, the patient who will be using marijuana in Spain for his own purposes must use it through the Cannabis Social Club (CSC). Thus, his behavior will not be considered illegal, as the CSC clearly falls under the doctrine of “shared use”.
However, judicial practice according to marijuana shows that if the production and storage of cannabis are not for trade, but for one’s own consumption, and shared consumption, it does not mean the distribution of drugs.
Therefore, if marijuana is only for self-consumption or shared use within an organization, it is legal.
Recreational use
The production, import, and sale of recreational marijuana are prohibited.
However, case law states that it is legal to grow marijuana in Spain for one’s own consumption. It is illegal to grow cannabis for profit. It should be only used in specific places (cannabis social clubs) or at home.
Industrial use
The production of marijuana in Spain on an industrial scale is possible provided that it does not exceed the THC limit of 0.2%, set by the European Union in Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 establishing rules for direct payments to farmers under support schemes within the framework of the common agricultural policy.
At the end of 2020, the party “Unidas Podemos” began working on a bill to streamline cannabis (for both recreational and medicinal use).
