Marijuana is one of the
most widely used illegal drugs in Spain. Around
35% of Spaniards claim to have tried it at some time in their life, according to the Survey on Alcohol and other drugs in Spain by the Ministry of Health.
There are many different opinions on
whether this drug should be legalised. According to the
CIS, the Centre for Sociological Research,
84% of citizens are in favour of the legalization of marijuana for therapeutic purposes only, while
47% would agree to the total legalization of this substance.
These opposing positions will now be discussed in the
Congress of Deputies with the proposal for a law prepared by the
European Observatory for the Consumption and Cultivation of Cannabis, a Spanish group of experts from the legal, health and other disciplines, for the
regularization of medical or therapeutic cannabis.
Currently in
Spain the cultivation, processing, trafficking and illegal possession of this substance is illegal, as well as activities that promote, favour or facilitate its consumption. All these actions are punishable by
fines ranging from 600 to 30,000 euros.
However,
cannabis is classified as a drug that
does not cause a serious effect on health, thus differentiating it from others that do generate problems of greater impact. That is why
the Criminal Code does not consider the consumption, possession and cultivation of cannabis to be a crime, provided that it is for its own use, that is, it is not more than 100 grams according to the Supreme Court, and is not intended for trafficking.
Since ancient times, marijuana has been used for its
therapeutic properties. As this plant contains a substance called
CBC, a molecule that according to scientific studies,
beneficial for treatment against diseases such as arthritis, sclerosis or epilepsy, provided you have a controlled consumption.
Based on the experience of other European countries such as the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Germany, Italy and Malta, where cannabis has already been regulated for medicinal purposes, the Observatory experts have drafted the new bill.
The new proposal
regulates the cultivation of the plant for medicinal and therapeutic use, access to seeds, distribution of its production, user associations and proposes a comprehensive sanctioning regime for violations of these regulations.
The main objective of this law, according to its editors, is the termination of the criminalization of users of therapeutic cannabis, who are exposed to resort to the
black market of substances without control and managed by criminal organizations.
Undoubtedly an issue that creates many discrepancies between those who think that this could be a public health problem and those who believe that its legalization would help fight the mafias and drug trafficking.