Marbella is one of the most popular towns on the Costa del Sol, which is one of Spain’s most popular destinations for Spanish, European, and global travelers seeking a Mediterranean resort experience. The town is known for its beaches, resorts, restaurants, and nightlife and Cannabis Social Clubs in Marbella. It is a favorite of the rich and famous. You don’t need to know much more to select it as a destination. But you will need to know how to stock up when you arrive.
How do you get weed in Marbella? If you want to visit Marbella and you want to know how to purchase cannabis while you are there, you need to understand the laws. You also need to understand how cannabis social clubs work. How to join one, and which ones in Marbella are the best. Once you know everything you need to know, you’ll be all set to enjoy your stay.
Spain has earned a reputation as a premier destination for canna-tourism. Still, the national laws and the local enforcement are a bit more complicated than what you will find in other cannabis culture tourist destinations. You need to have a basic understanding of what you can and cannot do and a general idea of how to get things done. That way you can avoid problems and have a good time.
Your Complete Guide to Getting Weed in Marbella
The entire country of Spain has decriminalized the use and possession of marijuana for individuals. That means that anyone in Spain can grow a limited amount of marijuana for personal use in the privacy of their own home. Something as simple as moving your plants onto a balcony where they are visible from a public street can be a finable offense.
Spanish police still arrest and prosecute anyone who is involved in smuggling. In June of last year, police in Marbella arrested 12 people and seized 3000 kgs of marijuana. In between the private citizens who grow their own and the criminals who smuggle and traffic, there are the cannabis social clubs (CSCs) that were created to give citizens who cannot or don’t want to grow their own access to safe, high-quality marijuana.
Cannabis social clubs have opened up a grey area in Spanish law surrounding the distribution of marijuana. Many CSCs found themselves on the wrong side of the law in the first 15 years of this century. They were never meant to be coffee shops or retail outlets, but many clubs pushed the envelope as far as they could. Others have done their best to live by both the spirit and the letter of the law.
As a visitor to Marbella, you need to know the laws that govern CSCs and personal use and possession to steer clear of problems. You also need to understand the history and the culture of the clubs to have a good experience when you visit one. This article will give you everything that you need to know to hit the ground running on your first visit to Marbella.
How to Join a Club
CSCs are private, members-only organizations that allow members to combine their legally permitted growing quotas under one roof. That means that the club either cultivates or buys the marijuana products on behalf of the members, and the members share those products amongst themselves. The clubs are meant to be a place where members socialize and use marijuana. Most clubs do allow members to take a certain amount with them for private use at home.
A non-member cannot walk into a cannabis club off the street and purchase marijuana. Any club that allowed someone to do so would be in violation of the law and would risk being shut down and losing the commonly owned holdings of their membership. In order to visit a club and use marijuana there or take some with you, you have to be a member.
How do you become a member of a CSC in Marbella? It isn’t a difficult process.
- Be over 18- or 21-years old, depending on the particular club’s rules.
- Show a photo ID like a driver’s license, passport, or visa.
- Provide a Spanish address—it doesn’t have to be a permanent address, and a hotel or hostel will usually work.
- Finally, you have to have a referral from a sponsor that is already a member of the club.
We will offer advice on how to find a sponsor later in this article. Once you have everything that you need to apply for membership, your sponsor will arrange a membership interview. You will pay a membership fee, and you will be issued a membership card. From that point forward, you will simply need to show your membership card to gain access to the club.
Legal Status
To understand the legal complexities of cannabis use in Spain, you need to look at it from the perspective of clubs as well as that of individuals. You also need to understand how Spanish law treats people who attempt to enter or exit the country while possessing marijuana and the risks involved in purchasing cannabis products on the black market rather than going through a CSC.
Clubs:
When cannabis social clubs were first introduced into Spanish society, it took a while for the nation, local law enforcement, club owners, and club members to figure out how things were going to work. There were many CSCs that saw the legal grey area as an opportunity to create a community for members to collectively pursue safe and social marijuana use for medical or recreational purposes.
Other clubs sought to exploit the uncertainty to pursue profits as aggressively as they could. Those clubs seemed to be working under the assumption that anything was legal until and unless the authorities shut them down. Between 2005 and 2015, there was a wide scope of business models behind different clubs, and that meant a wide variety of experiences for visitors.
Court cases have helped to clarify what the rules are and how they will be enforced. They have also helped to reign in, punish, or eliminate the CSCs that were only in it for the profit. That means that the CSCs that remain today are mostly businesses that follow the letter and the spirit of the law. They all tend to take pretty good care of members regardless of whether those members are visitors or neighbors.
Clubs can get in trouble for holding too much stock at one time. They can also get in trouble for having a membership that is too large. Finally, they can get in trouble if their board doesn’t participate in the operation or if they are too lax in their screening of new members. Those are all areas that the federal government of Spain has identified as red flags for a business that is using the guise of a CSC to cover retail activities or, worse, smuggling and trafficking.
Individuals:
Spanish law enforcement tends to take a very laid-back approach to enforcing the laws governing marijuana use and possession. This applies to private citizens and tourists alike. The possession of marijuana in the street is illegal. It is legal inside the club and legal once you are inside your home or hotel room.
It is highly unlikely that you will be stopped or searched by police if you are simply walking down the street. If you are visiting Marbella as a tourist, you just need to remember that it is a bad idea to light one up while you are walking down the sidewalk. It’s probably a risk that isn’t worth taking to smoke on a public beach or outside of a nightclub, but we’ll leave that up to each individual to decide.
One area where some tourists run into trouble during visits to Spain is in trying to find a club that they can join as a visitor to the area. The public squares are bustling black markets for marijuana and hash. They’re also risky places to do business for legal reasons and for the fact that the business can be shady outside of the CSCs. One way that scammers have taken advantage of the CSC situation is to have runners guide tourists to less than reputable CSCs. It is a good idea to do some research beforehand.
In Spain is that possession has been decriminalized. That means that you’ll only have to pay a fine if police requires. But, as we said, it is highly unlikely that you will be unless you are doing something silly. If you are doing something silly, don’t do anything to make it worse. Take your fine and be on your way.
Entry/Exit:
Even though private possession and personal use are legal in Spain, you should never try to bring marijuana into the country with you or take any home with you when you leave. Beyond the fact that doing so would mean possessing marijuana in public and put you on the wrong side of the law—there is far too great a risk that possession of even a small amount could expose you to charges of smuggling.
Getting caught in possession of marijuana is a charge that is only publishable by a fine. Charges of smuggling are far more serious. One of the best ways to ruin a great vacation is to take unnecessary and stupid risks with marijuana.
Like almost every detail of Spanish laws dealing with marijuana, there is a lot of grey area and a lot of confusion. In order to err on the side of caution while you are coming and going, it would be best to leave anything marijuana-related behind when you travel. Even CBD products have led to problems according to stories that we’ve seen people tell in chat rooms.
Wrapping It All Up
Visiting Spain is a different kind of canna-tourism than visiting Amsterdam in Europe or visiting Denver, Seattle, or Los Angeles in the United States. Because the laws are different, the process is different, and the culture is different. You can easily get whatever you need to have a good time once you arrive in Marbella. The key to making sure everything goes smoothly is understanding how the process there is different from what you’re used to.
There is plenty of high-quality weed to be had, and it’s the perfect complement to the amazing weather, gorgeous beaches, and friendly people that you’ll encounter during your visit. Take advantage of the safety and security that CSCs provide to marijuana users in Spain. Take the time to go through the steps to obtain a legit membership. It will lead to a much more pleasant experience than taking your chances in the public square.
Not only do you risk getting scammed when you do business in public, but you also expose yourself to unnecessary legal risks and accept a method of getting your marijuana that gives you zero control over the variety or quality. Why would you go that route when it’s so easy to do so much better?
Do you want to join a Cannabis Club in Marbella? Let us help you