<p>About 300 new cannabis clubs have opened in Barcelona and the surrounding region.<br /><br /></p>.<p>On a recent evening, two vacationing German college students, armed with addresses they had gotten off the Internet, were trying to get into one of Barcelona’s new marijuana clubs. They were not members. But no matter. They quickly found a club near the city’s central boulevard, La Rambla, that was willing to ignore the rules, helping them choose from a dozen strains of marijuana for sale in plastic bins before letting them settle into the cushy lounge area to light up.<br /><br />Forty-five minutes later, they were back on the street, smiling. “It was very nice,” said one of the students, who had researched cannabis clubs before choosing Barcelona as a holiday destination. “We will go back tomorrow.” The number of cannabis clubs that have opened in Barcelona recently has some experts saying this city will soon challenge Amsterdam as the go-to destination for vacationers who want to get high in peace.<br /><br />Even as Amsterdam has wrestled with drug tourism in recent years, reducing the number of coffee shops where it is legal to buy and smoke marijuana and hashish, about 300 new cannabis clubs have opened in Barcelona and the surrounding Catalan region, a result, at least in part, of enterprising Spaniards looking for new ways to earn a living, experts say.<br /><br />It is not that Barcelona officials have given their blessing to this new phenomenon. The clubs are operating under decades-old Spanish laws that allow anyone to grow and smoke marijuana in private or to band together with others to form a cannabis club, as long as it is a nonprofit organisation for members only, something like a chess or a cooking club.<br /><br />But in the last three years, new clubs have opened, particularly in tourist areas like La Rambla, in many cases circumventing the spirit, if not the letter, of the law. While some clubs refuse walk-in customers like the German college students, many of them offer membership (about 20 euros, or about $27) over the Internet or by phone. <br /><br />The clubs vary enormously, from basement rooms equipped with foosball tables and huge television sets, to more elegant settings with designer chandeliers and fresh fruit drink bars. Some give marijuana away to those who use it for medical purposes and see a business in this area. Others cater only to recreational users. Few of the clubs are noticeable from the street.<br /><br />The Rambla Dragon Club, for instance, which opened last year, is on the ground floor of an apartment building. Only a small sign over the doorbell (as well as the constant presence of young people squinting to read it) indicates its presence. It has the feel of a Starbucks without windows, its high ceilings and a mighty ventilation system keeping the air fresh. Some of the smokers sit at tables with their laptops open. Others sit in on sofas, watching movies on a giant screen.<br /><br />Aiding economy<br /><br />Some cannabis advocates say the clubs are a bright spot in the economy. Though they are nonprofits, advocates say the clubs are generating thousands of jobs and tax revenues for the state. <br /><br />In addition to selling a wide array of cannabis products and hashish, many of the clubs also sell food and drinks and offer extras to their members, like live music nights and Pilates classes.<br /><br />Albert Tió, the president of Fedcac, an association of cannabis clubs in the region of Catalonia that includes Barcelona, said the clubs now had 165,000 members, up from virtually none five years ago. His association was formed in 2011, with only a handful of clubs in existence, he said.<br /><br />One reason for the growth, he said, was that young people saw the clubs as a way to make a living. Another factor, he said, was Barcelona’s new antismoking laws, which went into effect in bars and restaurants in January 2011 and sent cannabis smokers, who are often also tobacco smokers, looking for new places to congregate. “The reality is this,” Tió said. “Consumers think this is better than buying drugs on the street.”<br /><br />Regional officials say that many of the clubs do cater mostly to Spaniards, including one club in which all the members are women in their 80s. But Barcelona officials are so concerned about the rapid increase in such establishments and this city’s growing reputation as a place to get a legal high that they decided in June to put a one-year<br /> moratorium on new licenses while they consider issues such as proximity to schools.<br /><br />“Yes, it’s a problem,” said Joan Delort, the head of prevention, security and mobility for Barcelona. “In a very few years, you have a huge registration of cannabis users. It is very hard to determine what is really going on. But in 18 months, you have clubs that are in a very small location, that have registered 4,000 members. It’s just impossible that they could have that many.”<br /><br />Some of the biggest names in the marijuana world are here. The Strain Hunters, for instance, a Dutch group that makes documentaries about the hunt for native strains of marijuana around the world, opened a club here in March, on a charming side street not far from La Rambla.<br /><br />With one-way windows that give the space an open and airy feel, but prevents passers-by from looking in, it has the look and the feel of an upscale bar. For those who want to get an early start, coffee and fresh croissants are available for breakfast, and members can opt for rarer cannabis products, such as pure cannabis resin in the shape of a butterfly.<br /><br />Websites that review the clubs, such as MarijuanaGames.org and WeBeHigh.org, are giving Barcelona clubs high marks for both the quality and the variety of cannabis products they sell, as well as for offering a far more pleasant atmosphere than most Amsterdam coffee shops, which they say usually offer stale marijuana.<br /><br />A few times a month, the police have stepped in, taking action against clubs caught leafleting on the street, for instance. But Edward Sallent, the inspector general of community policing for the Catalan regional police, said it was difficult to move against the clubs. “It’s a complex situation because a lot of the acts and behaviours are not forbidden,” he said. “Selling and trafficking are illegal, but consumption, no.”<br /><br />Some of those involved in managing the clubs in Barcelona hope that Spain will go further in legalizing marijuana soon. Though the clubs are run as nonprofit entities, some clearly represent big investments. <br /><br />One such club, RMD, has set up an area for members who use marijuana to soothe the effects of chemotherapy or for other medical purposes.<br /><br />It even hired a doctor to discuss their marijuana use and to help them with any issues that might arise. Tony Levi, who coordinates this aspect of the club, said he became interested in the medical benefits of cannabis when his father had cancer.<br /><br />He says he believes that eventually Spain will recognize cannabis for medical use and that the services the club is providing will be covered by insurance. “I do see a business model here,” he said.<br /><br /></p>
<p>About 300 new cannabis clubs have opened in Barcelona and the surrounding region.<br /><br /></p>.<p>On a recent evening, two vacationing German college students, armed with addresses they had gotten off the Internet, were trying to get into one of Barcelona’s new marijuana clubs. They were not members. But no matter. They quickly found a club near the city’s central boulevard, La Rambla, that was willing to ignore the rules, helping them choose from a dozen strains of marijuana for sale in plastic bins before letting them settle into the cushy lounge area to light up.<br /><br />Forty-five minutes later, they were back on the street, smiling. “It was very nice,” said one of the students, who had researched cannabis clubs before choosing Barcelona as a holiday destination. “We will go back tomorrow.” The number of cannabis clubs that have opened in Barcelona recently has some experts saying this city will soon challenge Amsterdam as the go-to destination for vacationers who want to get high in peace.<br /><br />Even as Amsterdam has wrestled with drug tourism in recent years, reducing the number of coffee shops where it is legal to buy and smoke marijuana and hashish, about 300 new cannabis clubs have opened in Barcelona and the surrounding Catalan region, a result, at least in part, of enterprising Spaniards looking for new ways to earn a living, experts say.<br /><br />It is not that Barcelona officials have given their blessing to this new phenomenon. The clubs are operating under decades-old Spanish laws that allow anyone to grow and smoke marijuana in private or to band together with others to form a cannabis club, as long as it is a nonprofit organisation for members only, something like a chess or a cooking club.<br /><br />But in the last three years, new clubs have opened, particularly in tourist areas like La Rambla, in many cases circumventing the spirit, if not the letter, of the law. While some clubs refuse walk-in customers like the German college students, many of them offer membership (about 20 euros, or about $27) over the Internet or by phone. <br /><br />The clubs vary enormously, from basement rooms equipped with foosball tables and huge television sets, to more elegant settings with designer chandeliers and fresh fruit drink bars. Some give marijuana away to those who use it for medical purposes and see a business in this area. Others cater only to recreational users. Few of the clubs are noticeable from the street.<br /><br />The Rambla Dragon Club, for instance, which opened last year, is on the ground floor of an apartment building. Only a small sign over the doorbell (as well as the constant presence of young people squinting to read it) indicates its presence. It has the feel of a Starbucks without windows, its high ceilings and a mighty ventilation system keeping the air fresh. Some of the smokers sit at tables with their laptops open. Others sit in on sofas, watching movies on a giant screen.<br /><br />Aiding economy<br /><br />Some cannabis advocates say the clubs are a bright spot in the economy. Though they are nonprofits, advocates say the clubs are generating thousands of jobs and tax revenues for the state. <br /><br />In addition to selling a wide array of cannabis products and hashish, many of the clubs also sell food and drinks and offer extras to their members, like live music nights and Pilates classes.<br /><br />Albert Tió, the president of Fedcac, an association of cannabis clubs in the region of Catalonia that includes Barcelona, said the clubs now had 165,000 members, up from virtually none five years ago. His association was formed in 2011, with only a handful of clubs in existence, he said.<br /><br />One reason for the growth, he said, was that young people saw the clubs as a way to make a living. Another factor, he said, was Barcelona’s new antismoking laws, which went into effect in bars and restaurants in January 2011 and sent cannabis smokers, who are often also tobacco smokers, looking for new places to congregate. “The reality is this,” Tió said. “Consumers think this is better than buying drugs on the street.”<br /><br />Regional officials say that many of the clubs do cater mostly to Spaniards, including one club in which all the members are women in their 80s. But Barcelona officials are so concerned about the rapid increase in such establishments and this city’s growing reputation as a place to get a legal high that they decided in June to put a one-year<br /> moratorium on new licenses while they consider issues such as proximity to schools.<br /><br />“Yes, it’s a problem,” said Joan Delort, the head of prevention, security and mobility for Barcelona. “In a very few years, you have a huge registration of cannabis users. It is very hard to determine what is really going on. But in 18 months, you have clubs that are in a very small location, that have registered 4,000 members. It’s just impossible that they could have that many.”<br /><br />Some of the biggest names in the marijuana world are here. The Strain Hunters, for instance, a Dutch group that makes documentaries about the hunt for native strains of marijuana around the world, opened a club here in March, on a charming side street not far from La Rambla.<br /><br />With one-way windows that give the space an open and airy feel, but prevents passers-by from looking in, it has the look and the feel of an upscale bar. For those who want to get an early start, coffee and fresh croissants are available for breakfast, and members can opt for rarer cannabis products, such as pure cannabis resin in the shape of a butterfly.<br /><br />Websites that review the clubs, such as MarijuanaGames.org and WeBeHigh.org, are giving Barcelona clubs high marks for both the quality and the variety of cannabis products they sell, as well as for offering a far more pleasant atmosphere than most Amsterdam coffee shops, which they say usually offer stale marijuana.<br /><br />A few times a month, the police have stepped in, taking action against clubs caught leafleting on the street, for instance. But Edward Sallent, the inspector general of community policing for the Catalan regional police, said it was difficult to move against the clubs. “It’s a complex situation because a lot of the acts and behaviours are not forbidden,” he said. “Selling and trafficking are illegal, but consumption, no.”<br /><br />Some of those involved in managing the clubs in Barcelona hope that Spain will go further in legalizing marijuana soon. Though the clubs are run as nonprofit entities, some clearly represent big investments. <br /><br />One such club, RMD, has set up an area for members who use marijuana to soothe the effects of chemotherapy or for other medical purposes.<br /><br />It even hired a doctor to discuss their marijuana use and to help them with any issues that might arise. Tony Levi, who coordinates this aspect of the club, said he became interested in the medical benefits of cannabis when his father had cancer.<br /><br />He says he believes that eventually Spain will recognize cannabis for medical use and that the services the club is providing will be covered by insurance. “I do see a business model here,” he said.<br /><br /></p>