A Brief History of Cannabis Policies in Spain (1968-2003) – Juan F. Gamella, Maria Luisa Jiménez Rodrigo

 

A Brief History of Cannabis Policies in Spain (1968-2003) – Juan F. Gamella, Maria Luisa Jiménez Rodrigo

Journal of Drug Issues: Summer 2004; 34, 3; pages 623-659

To understand my paper topic “Cannabis Policies in Spain,” one must understand that it was not an easy process for Spaniards. For many years these citizens have enjoyed smoking a joint or two, and it is not because of disregard of the law, or lack of drug abuse knowledge. Spain was one of the first European counties to decriminalize this drug. “By 2001, over 1.7 million people were using cannabis regularly, a portion of them daily” (Gamella & Rodrigo p. 624). The use of cannabis dates back to the 1940s and 1950s when Spain had colonies in Morocco, and tourists would bring the good back to their homes. For many years the courts and law enforcement ignore these practice, mostly because they saw it as something that only lowlifes did. By the late 1960s, smoking cannabis is the streets was part of the rebellion against the dictator Franco, which in my opinion is a great way to really put a government regime up in smoke. However when the Franco regime came to an end and Spain began the process to rejoin the rest of Western Europe, things began to change.

Spain had to follow the international list of controlled substances that were set by the UN Single Convention of 1961. By 1968, the Spanish government created a narcotics police force, in hopes to control the policies set by the UN. According to Gamella & Rodrigo people with different lifestyles were targeted along with drug users. By 1973 things began to change; drug possession, even for personal consumption became a penal offence. Nevertheless in the months following this ruling, the Supreme Courts decided that possession for self-consumption should not be prosecuted. Now if you know anything about the “War on Drugs” you’d know that it is often compared to the heroin epidemic that occurred during the 1960s and early 1970s. Heroin use hit Spain like a head on collision, it caused many social problems and increased crime across the nation.

The heroin problem began in 1977, and by the end of 1979 thousands of Spaniards were abusing this drug and many were addicted. Although this was happening in other countries across the EU, but the Spanish government was very concerned. When I say there was in an increase in crime, I mean Spain broke records. “For example, in 1974 there were 100 bank robberies in Spain, while in 1984… there was 6,239…” (Gamella & Rodrigo p.628). THIS WAS A WORLD RECORD!! The 1980s was a rough decade for the Spaniards, there was slow economic growth, a large population ranging from 15-29 years old, and terrible labor opportunities. Three million people were unemployed in 1985, which could explain the increase in crime rates.

But how does this relate back to Cannabis policies? Well in 1982, Spain began its socialist governments led by Felipe Gonzalez. The government struggled for years to get things back in order, and sought to make serious changes. What was something that they changed? It may be hard to believe but the government took charge and changed the penal code regarding drugs. They made a separation between “hard” and “soft” drugs, this labeled cannabis a soft drug and heroin/cocaine/LSD hard drugs. Drugs that caused less harm were labeled soft drugs. Secondly the government eliminated self-consumption as a criminal act. Although the public, as a whole, did not agree with these policies, the government set stronger penalties for public consumption and trafficking. With international pressure, Spain took a proactive approach to solve the many problems Spain was facing. With pharmacies being a major target for robberies during the heroin epidemic, the government put restrictions on what drugs could and could not be sold. Another step the government took was to open methadone programs to help addicts ease off heroin, and by 1987 over 100 programs were up and running.

The country struggled to maintain helpful programs, considering a lot of them were away from where people could by drugs and when patients returned home it often resulted in relapse. The increase of need for these clinics also helped the youth, by giving them a reason to pursue careers in fields that relate to the clinics. It could be said that the drug culture in Spain wasn’t going anywhere but this wasn’t going to stop the government from making changes to the laws. In fact the amount of cannabis smokers decreased during the 1980s, this could be related to the HIV/AIDS out break among drug users. This didn’t stop cannabis from coming into the country, although it was intended for sale in other countries it was still a Spanish problem. The 1990s was a new decade for the War on Drugs in Spain, in 1992 a new law, Corcuera’s Law, was passed which put fines on consuming drugs in public and enabled the defendant to have the charges dropped if they agreed to enter a rehab program. “By 2000, there were 80,000 people on subsidized methadone programs all over Spain” (Gamella & Rodrigo p.636). The government was getting serious about trying to solve the problem, but there were constant battles throughout the country on how to fix the problem. Since there were different political parties at different levels of government it was a struggle to make everyone happy.

So in 1995 the Spanish government drafted the new penal code of 1995, in hopes to really make a national impact. This new set of laws still made it a crime to grow, manufacture or trade drugs, and also increased drug trafficking. A cannabis smoker, if arrested and put on trial would be facing one to three years in jail if it was their first offense, and up to four and half years for large quantities. But any person who was arrested on cannabis charges could argue that the drug was for private consumption. Which is a loophole around the public consumption clauses, and as long as it was in small quantities the court could dismiss the case. According to Gamella and Rodrigo, two different cases in the 1990s where the cases were dismissed because there was no signs that the defendants were going to sell the drugs; but courts were very careful when it comes to dismissal. Which raised the concern to set limits on how much could be personally consumed by an individual. “In October of 2001, the Supreme Court, after considering changes in dominant attitudes, established a new limit of 2.5 kilos of hashish and 10 kg for cannabis” (Gamella & Rodrigo p.639). The government made these changes to the law in hope to separate the everyday smokers from the criminals who were trafficking the drugs to other places.

By the 1990s smoking was a country wide event again, and the largest group of Spanish “tokers” were high school students. According to research done by Delegación del Gobierno para el Plan Naciobal sobre Drogas (DGPND) and Observatorio Español sobre Drogas reports that out of 20,000 high school students, in 2000 31.2% of the students smoked cannabis before, 54.1% of 18 year olds have smoked cannabis and males smoke more than females. These numbers are not because of lack of drug abuse knowledge, but because these young adults saw cannabis as something that was safer than smoking a cigarette Although Spanish court rooms were filled with cases regarding cannabis, most of which were followed by fines, Spaniards found another loophole around the laws. The only way they could safely consume cannabis in private settings were to grow their own plants, grow shops that sold seeds and the necessary equipment began to pop up around the country.   

Spaniards were no longer buying cannabis illegal, considering they would only grow what they would consume, which followed the laws of the land. A consumer could grow any type that they liked and avoided paying fines. In the late 1990s “Cannabis Cups” began to occur, which is like a state fair but instead giving the blue ribbon to the grower with the largest pumpkin or pig, it was a competition of who could grow the best plant. These cups is what started national Cannabis Clubs, which grow larger every year. A pro-Cannabis political party even ran in European elections in 2004 but only received close to 54,000 votes. The amount of literature regarding cannabis has also increased over the years, with the main purpose to support the cause of the pro-cannabis knowledge. It took many years to take full course, but Spaniards can now use and grow cannabis in their household without fear of government and criminal repercussions.