Barcelona, Spain is arguably the top cannabis tourism destination on the planet. Known for its famed cannabis clubs, it is estimated that the Barcelona region is currently home to roughly 450 club establishments where recreational and medical cannabis is easy to acquire.
According to the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, record quantities of unregulated cannabis were seized in Europe in 2021, with Spain being a continental leader for such cannabis seizures.
Cannabis clubs operate in a ‘legal gray area’ in Spain, and are not regulated. Authorities with the City of Barcelona tried to institute local cannabis club regulations, however, Spain’s Supreme Court deemed the local regulations to be unconstitutional back in 2021.
Spain is home to a legal medical cannabis industry, with the nation’s industry quadrupling its permitted production limit last year. Yet, Spain’s medical cannabis industry is geared toward domestic production for the purpose of medical cannabis exports, and not for supplying the nation’s domestic medical cannabis market. Suffering patients in Spain largely rely on cannabis clubs to source their medicine.
Lawmakers in Spain are working toward adopting long-overdue domestic medical cannabis market regulations. In February 2024, Spain’s Ministry of Health started the process of developing a Royal Decree, although, there is no estimated timetable for enactment of a national medical cannabis measure.
According to Statista:
- In Spain, the revenue in the Recreational Cannabis market is predicted to reach US$1.53bn in 2024
- It is anticipated that the revenue will experience a compound annual growth rate (CAGR 2024-2029) of 4.86%, resulting in a market volume of US$1.94bn by 2029
“In practical terms, the system serves more than 4 million Spanish cannabis consumers, while attracting a broader canna-tourism market of 6.6 to 12.4 million consumers each year.” stated New Frontier Data in 2019 regarding Spain’s unregulated cannabis club system.
“Though no definitive numbers are maintained or verified, estimates gathered from industry stakeholders describe CSCs ranging between smaller clubs (with fewer than 3,000 members) to the largest (including up to 50,000 registered if not active members). Across that range, about 2/3 of clubs reportedly maintain rolls of between 3,000-10,000 consumer.” New Frontier Data also stated.