Spain: Navarre Parliament approves cannabis self-cultivation

On June 7, the Navarrese Parliament approved the referral of a bill on the personal cultivation and private consumption of cannabis to the State Parliament. This bill was just approved, during the July 10 session, by the lower house of Parliament, the Congress of Deputies.

The bill must now go before the Senate, which will decide whether to pass it on second reading by an absolute majority or to amend it by a relative majority; in the latter case, it will have to return to the Chamber of Deputies for a third reading, where the amendments will be reviewed. The bill in question authorizes adult users to grow up to 8 cannabis plants outdoors and up to 4 square meters indoors.

The Spirit of the Law

This is the first time a law like this will be debated in Spain, especially given that a situation that seemed rather unfavorable. Cannabis Social Clubs that already engage in personal cultivation are operating within a legal loophole that prevents any legal action against them. The law does not aim to fully legalize cannabis and turn it into a state-run market, but rather seeks to address this legal loophole by clearly defining personal cultivation. Cannabis Social Clubs would thus become officially legal, and their services would be recognized and improved—notably through the creation of registries and adherence to a code of conduct.

Once they are brought into compliance, these organizations would agree to undergo legal inspections and product testing. They would implement strict access controls, limiting entry to members only and prohibiting minors from entering. The law requires that users' right to self-education to protect against the dangers of the black market while highlighting the savings in police, judicial, and correctional resources that such regulation would represent for the government, not to mention the benefits of taxation. In short, the law aims to regulate the activities of Cannabis Social Clubs within a win-win framework that would foster peaceful relations with the authorities.

An initiative from Navarre

This bill was introduced by the Navarrese Party Navarre Cannabis Association or Navarre Regional Secretariat in Basque. The party used the ILP procedure, the Popular Legislative Initiative, a mechanism of semi-direct democracy by petition enshrined in the Spanish Constitution that allows citizens to submit a proposal to the Congress of Deputies for a ruling—provided that the proposal has reached the minimum number of signatures, which varies by region. Through this mechanism, the proposed law is presented to the Congress of Deputies, which reviews it and rules on its admissibility within the following 15 days.

Ramón Morcillo and Fermín Les, the party members behind the proposal, welcomed the bill’s swift passage to the Senate and announced a new era for cannabis regulation as the debate begins in Spanish institutions. Accompanied by their team, the two activists traveled throughout Spain in search of signatures and collected more than 250,000 through their campaign. ‘’You Matter" (Your vote matters.).