Cannabis Law in Spain: The Bill for Comprehensive Regulation for Adults

As part of its commitment to reforming cannabis policy in Spain, Podemos, now part of the Mixed Group, has registered a significant legislative proposal in the Spanish Congress of Deputies: the Bill on the Comprehensive Regulation and Control of Cannabis for Adults. This initiative, which had already been put forward in the previous legislature but was suspended when early elections were called, has been revived by Podemos now that the party has regained its ability to table bills by joining the Mixed Group. Previously, as part of the Sumar coalition, it had no capacity for political action, since none of its 5 deputies held a deputy spokesperson position, which is what makes it possible to sign initiatives.

Executive summary of the Cannabis Bill

The Podemos Cannabis Bill, whose legislative design and drafting I had the privilege of carrying out at S&F Abogados, is ambitious and covers the comprehensive regulation of cannabis for adults. The Bill on the Comprehensive Regulation and Control of Cannabis for Adults focuses on thorough control by the State instead of the current lack of control, where access to cannabis is controlled by mafias and criminal groups, which represents a genuine paradigm shift. The bill seeks to regulate not only the use and possession of cannabis, but also to establish a detailed legal framework for all activities related to access to cannabis that are already operating informally. This includes:

• Comprehensive regulation: The bill for the comprehensive regulation of cannabis emphasises the legalisation of possession and use for adults. It establishes a legal framework that regulates in detail the activities permitted, including specific spaces for consumption and clear parameters for transporting and personal possession of cannabis. The law also proposes precise limits and rules for access to, purchase, sale and dispensing of cannabis products. These rules aim to offer a controlled and safe environment for cannabis use while ensuring compliance with the legal regulations in force.

 

• Information strategies: Information campaigns are a key component of the bill. Their main goal would be to educate the public about the risks associated with cannabis use, focusing especially on potential effects on physical and mental health. They would seek to reach a wide audience through various channels, including digital and traditional platforms, to ensure the information is accessible and understandable. These information initiatives would play a crucial role in promoting responsible and conscious use of cannabis, contributing to greater social awareness of its implications.

 

• Spanish Control Agency: The creation of a specific state body is an integral part of the bill. This body would be responsible for overseeing and ensuring both the correct implementation of the law and compliance with its various provisions. It would act as a regulatory and control body, ensuring that all cannabis-related activities, from production to sale and consumption, are carried out in accordance with the established legal standards, thus contributing to the effectiveness and transparency of the proposed regulatory framework.

 

• Control tools: The bill includes advanced mechanisms to ensure effective compliance. Notably, it introduces state control software designed to cover all operations related to the different licences. This system would allow efficient monitoring and management of all activities, from cultivation to sale, ensuring that the rules are respected and that a high level of control and transparency is maintained throughout the process.

 

• Self-management: The bill includes authorisation of personal home growing and the creation of cooperative cannabis social clubs. This allows individuals to grow their own cannabis within certain limits and conditions set by law, promoting responsible and controlled access. Cooperative clubs offer a community structure for the consumption and distribution of cannabis, encouraging a collaborative and regulated approach. These measures represent a significant step forward in the normalisation and regulation of cannabis, providing legal and safe alternatives for its use and distribution.

 

• Regulated market: The law establishes a detailed system for applying for and granting cannabis-related licences, with specific requirements to guarantee a diversified market and avoid excessive concentration of economic power, known as the “McDonaldisation” of cannabis. It includes limits on accumulating licences to ensure a fair and diverse distribution of the market. The bill also incorporates rigorous control and safety measures, including quality control of cannabis products, to ensure they meet established health and safety standards.

 

• Types of licences: The law provides for a diversified licensing system covering different aspects of the cannabis industry. These licences include access, production, processing and distribution of cannabis products, as well as the production and sale of seeds. There are also specific licences for botanical research and for quality control laboratories. This comprehensive approach ensures thorough regulation of the entire cannabis value chain, from cultivation to consumption, encouraging research and guaranteeing safe, high-quality products.

 

• Import and export: The law would include specific rules for international trade in cannabis within a regulated market. These rules would ensure that cross-border trade in cannabis complies with international and legal standards, enabling controlled and legal exchange of cannabis products between countries. This is essential for integrating the Spanish cannabis market into the global economy, while respecting international agreements and foreign trade rules.

 

• Advertising and promotion: The law would set clear guidelines for the advertising, promotion and sponsorship of cannabis products. These rules would regulate how these products can be marketed and advertised, ensuring this is done responsibly and without targeting inappropriate audiences such as minors. The aim is to avoid excessive promotion and ensure that cannabis advertising is truthful, not misleading and appropriate, preserving public health and social wellbeing.

 

• Tax measures and penalty regime: The bill provides for specific taxes on cannabis products, creating a new source of tax revenue. It would also establish a system of penalties for those who break the law. This approach seeks not only to generate economic resources for the State, but also to ensure compliance with the rules and encourage responsible use of cannabis. These measures reinforce the regulatory and preventive nature of the law, balancing tax benefits with the protection of public health.

 

• Legal fit and amendment of existing rules: The law proposes adapting existing legislation to properly integrate the new cannabis rules. This would involve reviewing and amending current legal rules to ensure they align with the new cannabis regulation, ensuring coherence and effectiveness in its application. This process is key to the successful implementation of the law, as it allows a smooth transition to a regulatory framework covering all aspects of cannabis consumption, production and sale.

Key features of the cannabis law

This law is presented as an advanced and fair solution, focused on inclusion and respect for the environment. Among its most notable features are measures to limit the carbon footprint, such as banning indoor production for companies that do not generate most of their energy from renewable sources. It also promotes development in less populated areas of Spain and in the island territories through tax exemptions. The law also seeks to integrate disadvantaged groups through micro-producer cooperatives, under strong administrative control.

Arguments in defence of the Spanish Cannabis Bill

There are many arguments for approving this law, but we could highlight the following:

• The need to change cannabis policy: The current prohibitionist policy has proven ineffective, leading to wasted resources and the strengthening of criminal groups. After almost six decades of prohibition, access to cannabis and illegal crops have grown exponentially, which shows that prohibition has completely failed in its goals of limiting access, limiting demand and limiting adulteration of cannabis.

 

• Impact on society: The law would have a positive impact on society by giving users detailed and transparent information about the products they consume. Unlike today, when there is widespread ignorance about the composition and quality of cannabis, the law would ensure rigorous quality controls and clear labelling, allowing consumers to make informed and safe decisions about their consumption.

 

• Benefits of regulation: The transition to a regulated cannabis market, as proposed in the law, offers significant benefits, including the formalisation of activities that are currently underground. This regulation has the potential to turn many informal jobs linked to the black market into legal, regulated jobs, reducing job insecurity in this sector. It would also ease the burden on the justice system, which currently devotes considerable resources to cannabis cases. Implementing this law would also generate substantial tax revenue, which could be reinvested in public health and education programmes. For example, in the state of Colorado, cannabis regulation has generated significant tax revenue since tax collection began in February 2014. By November 2023, total revenue of approximately 2.599 billion dollars had been collected. In 2023 alone (to November), the state collected around 255 million dollars in cannabis-related taxes and fees. These figures reflect the economic potential of cannabis regulation, showing that it can be a substantial source of tax revenue for governments. In short, regulation not only minimises the risks associated with illegal consumption and trade, but also offers an opportunity to improve the quality of employment and contribute to overall social wellbeing.

 

• Specific situations: The law brings clarity and legal structure to previously ambiguous cannabis situations, specifically addressing both private consumption and home growing and setting limits and rules to ensure responsible use. A notable innovation of the law is the distinction between two types of Cannabis Social Clubs: Cooperative and Licensed. Cooperative Cannabis Social Clubs are geared towards a community, participatory model, while Licensed Clubs operate under a more commercial model. This distinction allows regulation to be adapted to different approaches to access and consumption, providing a safe legal framework tailored to the characteristics of each type of club. With these measures, the law not only regulates existing practices but also promotes a clearer and safer organisational structure for cannabis consumption.

 

• International context: Internationally, the trend towards cannabis regulation is gaining momentum, with several countries and regions adopting more permissive policies. This global trend reflects a significant change in the perception and management of cannabis, moving away from prohibition towards regulation and control. Countries such as Canada, Uruguay and several US states, together with European regions, have implemented laws allowing cannabis use under certain conditions. A notable example is Germany, which from 1 April took a step forward in this direction by adopting a cannabis regulation policy. These international examples not only show the potential benefits of such policies in terms of market control and public safety, but also offer a valuable reference framework for Spain, highlighting the viability and positive results of adopting a similar regulatory approach.

 

• Distinction between medical cannabis and adult use: The bill takes a distinctive approach in line with global trends, keeping a clear separation between adult-use cannabis and medical cannabis. This distinction reflects an advanced, specialised understanding of the different applications and needs associated with each type of use. Around the world, no comprehensive cannabis law combines both aspects in a single piece of legislation, recognising that medical and recreational cannabis require different regulatory approaches. While recreational cannabis focuses on age, responsible consumption and market regulation, medical cannabis requires a framework addressing medical prescription, therapeutic efficacy and pharmacological safety. By following this model, Spanish legislation would be at the forefront of a progressive and specific drug policy, providing appropriate and effective legal frameworks for each use of cannabis.

 

• Protection of minors in the bill: Special emphasis is placed on protecting minors, with strict controls to prevent their access to cannabis. This includes rigorous age checks at points of sale, educational campaigns focused on the risks of youth consumption, specific rules restricting consumption in public spaces, and severe penalties for anyone who supplies cannabis to minors. These measures seek to balance responsible regulation for adults with effective protection of young people, emphasising a public health and social responsibility approach to cannabis. In short, the law not only paves the way for a regulatory framework for cannabis among adults, but also establishes a robust system to protect minors, striking a balance between the individual freedom of adults and the social responsibility to protect the young. This proposal is a step forward in creating a safer and more aware society with regard to cannabis use.

Next steps for the Spanish Cannabis Bill

The Bill on the Comprehensive Regulation and Control of Cannabis for Adults submitted by Podemos to the Congress of Deputies is more than a simple legislative measure; it represents a paradigm shift in Spain’s drug policy. Its comprehensive approach, covering everything from home growing to market regulation, as well as environmental and social inclusion measures, clearly shows the need to adapt our laws to contemporary social and economic realities. For this proposal to become a reality, the support of other political groups is essential. In this regard, a special call is made to the Socialist Party (PSOE), urging it to recognise the importance and the opportunity this law represents. Its support is not only crucial for approving the law, but also symbolises a commitment to progressive and social justice policies. In addition, the groups in favour of cannabis regulation, such as ERC, EH Bildu, Sumar and PNV, among others, must coordinate with each other and with Podemos and work together to ensure the success of this initiative. Cooperation between these groups will be key to overcoming possible political and legislative obstacles and ensuring the law meets the needs and expectations of Spanish society. The next steps will be the admission of the initiative by the Bureau of the Congress of Deputies and the subsequent setting of a date for its consideration debate. This step could not be passed in the previous legislature because the PSOE voted against the initiatives put forward by Esquerra Republicana and Más País, while the Unidas Podemos bill did not even reach that stage following the early dissolution of Parliament. Let us hope this initiative has better luck and that Podemos and the other parliamentary groups actively press the PSOE to support it, since they are able to do so, as the votes of Podemos and the other parties are key to the approval of anything the PSOE brings to Congress.

Society is ready for a cannabis law in Spain

Cannabis regulation is not only a matter of individual freedoms, but also of public health, safety and economic development. With appropriate regulation, a balance can be struck between State control and the freedom of adults, while fighting the black market, reducing health risks and generating significant tax revenue. For all these reasons, this is a crucial moment for political parties to show their commitment to the evolution of public policy in Spain. Approving this law would be an important step towards a more rational and humane approach to cannabis and the people who use it. It is time to leave behind unfounded prejudices and fears and embrace an approach based on evidence, justice and respect for individual rights. Society is ready and waiting. In short, the Bill on the Comprehensive Regulation and Control of Cannabis for Adults is not only an opportunity to modernise Spanish legislation, but also to show that our political representatives can work together for the common good. History will judge us by our actions or our inaction; it is time to act with courage and vision. At S&F Abogados we are firmly committed to regulation and will keep you updated on the next steps of the Spanish Cannabis Bill. Bernardo Soriano Guzmán, co-director of S&F Abogados.