You’ve no doubt heard about the exciting and underground world of cannabis clubs in Barcelona. Unlike Amsterdam, the law surrounding these underground cannabis coffeeshops is complex and you can’t just find them by looking around the streets of the Catalan capital. Instead you must do a bit of forward planning. So how do you plan a trip to Barcelona cannabis clubs?
In this article we’ll try to outline some of the basic principles of visiting cannabis clubs in BCN. It’s important to do your research, as the law surrounding cannabis cafés is not simple. If you want to avoid large fines or possible arrest, then pay attention.
Before you go to cannabis club in Barcelona:
1. Know the law
The first step is to know the law. Casually walking around the streets of Barcelona assuming you can do whatever you want is very naive. Below are some basic things to be aware of if you want to visit a cannabis club in Barcelona.
• It’s perfectly fine for a tourist to join a BCN cannabis café.
The law’s that surround cannabis clubs in Catalonia do not prohibit foreigners and tourists from joining a cannabis club. You can obviously expect to pay a little bit more than a local, but that’s the price of being a tourist. Accept it and just enjoy the perks of cannabis culture in Barcelona that you won’t get at home.
• It’s not completely legal
While it may be legal to smoke inside a Barcelona cannabis club, it certainly not legal to smoke on the streets. Get caught by the police smoking in the street and you could face a fine of one thousand euros for a first offence.
• It’s not actually legal to carry marijuana
This may seem peculiar, but it’s not legal to carry it on the street. It’s only legal in the clubs and in your own homes. The best advice is always to only buy a little bit of weed in the cannabis clubs and smoke it all inside. Then you can get as high as you want without paranoia. It’s not illegal to be stoned. Get as baked as you want! Just don’t carry it around.
• You need to be invited to be a member of a club
Cannabis clubs in Barcelona are not like coffeeshops in Amsterdam. You need to be a member to enter or be about to become a member. What that really means is you just need to request a membership online and then you can join. There are lots of private members clubs that are a lot harder to join, but there are also plenty of accessible cannabis clubs in Barcelona.
• It’s illegal for them to promote
If someone approaches you on the street inviting you to a cannabis club, then this is infringing on the law and chances are it won’t be a good cannabis club. Avoid street promoters as they will take you to bad marijuana clubs designed to rip you off.
2. Research BCN cannabis clubs
The great thing about the law surrounding cannabis clubs in BCN is that it’s not illegal for them to have websites and social media. It’s illegal for the club to actively promote themselves but they can hold a web presence without infringing on this part of the law. As we said previously, don’t trust the street promoters, but websites and social media are fine. It’s perfectly legitimate and a very useful way to find out more about the cannabis clubs scene in Barcelona.
Our main tip about marijuana cafés in Barcelona is to do your research. Nearly all cannabis coffeeshops will have a joining fee and you don’t want to waste your money on low-quality marijuana. As mentioned previously, tourists pay a higher price anyway so it’s best to be a member of a club that at least sells good weed. If you are unsure about what cannabis club to join, visit our friends at weedbcn.com for honest reviews and detailed information.
Cannabis Clubs – Our Top 5
3. Stay Calm
It can be a little overwhelming at first. Cannabis clubs in Barcelona are a little underground and not out in the open. They aren’t obvious if you don’t know where they are and therefore can seem a little shady. The signup process however is very serious. They will want to take copies of passports and identity cards, which can seem a little strange.
Try to remember that the BCN cannabis clubs must stay within the law and those laws are very much in the grey area. Therefore, they must be very careful and thorough in order to protect themselves and their members. There are plenty of stories of cannabis clubs being shut down for infringing on the law. If the weed club wants pictures and documents when you join, then don’t panic – this is a good thing. Any cannabis club that takes the legal side of things seriously is going to be a good quality club. If they let you walk straight in without checking any of your documents, then that’s the time you should start worrying.
4. Enjoy the club
Once you’re in the club and you’re a fully paid up member you can enjoy the club. You can ask whatever questions you want at this stage and the members running the dispensary desk will be happy to answer your queries. As soon as you are a member you can relax and enjoy the fact that you are smoking weed legally in Barcelona.
There is one last thing to remember about cannabis clubs in BCN though. They are not shops. You are a member of a club and therefore you aren’t buying weed, but instead contributing to your share of the club’s cannabis growing costs. Don’t ask to buy weed. Ask if you can have some. Check out the strains and then say you’ll ‘get’ some. If you’re a member of a really good BCN cannabis club, don’t be surprised if they turn you down if you ask to buy some weed. As we said before, cannabis cafes in Barcelona live in a grey area of the law. They need to be seen to be adhering to the law. It may seem like a small thing, but even a small use of language like this could land the founding members in jail. Don’t make their actions potentially illegal.