Business
Cannabis clubs operate in a legal grey zone while national regulation stalls.
Spain operates hundreds of cannabis social clubs in a de facto tolerance policy, primarily in Catalonia and the Basque Country. A national medical cannabis framework has repeatedly stalled in parliament. Personal use and home cultivation are decriminalised.
Spain has no domestic medical cannabis patient access programme currently in place. The country operates primarily as a major producer and exporter.
In February 2025, Spain submitted a draft medical cannabis decree to the European Commission for approval. If approved, it would give patients in Spain legal access to medical cannabis for the first time.
The proposed framework has been criticised as highly conservative — flower products will not be permitted; only extract products will be allowed. Patient advocacy groups have raised concerns about the programme's scope.
Patient access framework: Not yet in operation as of Q1 2025. Pending approval of the February 2025 draft decree.
Who can prescribe (under proposed framework): Medical specialists only — general practitioners will not be permitted to prescribe.
Proposed conditions covered:
Medical cannabis will only be permitted as a last resort after all other treatments have failed.
Spain's medical cannabis market is primarily export-oriented. Domestic patient access does not yet exist.
Spain is one of Europe's largest cultivation locations, with significant volumes cultivated, imported, processed, and re-exported annually.
Key operators include Aurora (with significant cultivation operations) and others supplying the German and UK markets. Specific retail product data for domestic patients is not applicable until the patient programme launches.
Spain is a major cultivation and export hub supplying the German, UK, and Polish markets.
Despite producing large volumes, Spain currently has no domestic medical patient market — all commercial activity is focused on export.
Some imported cannabis is processed and re-exported, making Spain both a direct exporter and a re-exporter of medical cannabis.
Personal use and home cultivation are decriminalised in Spain — administrative fines rather than criminal charges. Cannabis social clubs operate in a grey area, mainly in Catalonia and the Basque Country. There is no national medical programme, though one is under parliamentary consideration.