I never found a definitive tally — you could say I was overwhelmed by the local sentiment and decided that it didn’t really matter — but some estimates, there are as many as 150 to 200 cannabis clubs in Barcelona. That feels high, even in a city of almost 2 million people, some of whom are legitimate marijuana refugees, fleeing the police in Putin’s Russia, but I had no way of verifying and I exhausted my limit to personally test the theory out at a total of six.
At any rate, all you need to know is that the clubs are awesome. They are relaxed. They serve food and coffee and beer and wine and water. They let you in and leave you alone. I guess they’re not really legal, which is why they don’t advertise (except on the internet), why there is very little signage (except for the few times when there was, a placard saying “CANNABIS” next to the charcuterie shop and the tapas bar), and why they charge you a nominal membership fee and ask to see your ID and swipe a little card or fob every time you enter.
No matter which cannabis scene you prefer, and unless you’ve traveled to them all, you’ll never truly know which one is the best for you, it is apparent that Barcelona has something special going for it. In addition to the locales that I mentioned earlier, I want to give props to Prague, Czech Republic, and my hometown Portland, Oregon (but we need to improve our laws here). As Spain follows the trajectory of other nations and moves towards legalizing and regulating cannabis, it will be imperative that the cannabis community organizes to help maintain the bustling Barcelona social club scene.
