Cannabis clubs are partnerships focused on supplying and distributing cannabis among their partners. This profile of non-profit partnership is spreading throughout the countries where marijuana consumption has been legalized. It is aimed at partners with the right to consuming, but not growing.
Situation in Spain
The situation in Spain is similar to most consuming countries, but its legislation prohibits it. Generally, drug war is a failure, and they say prohibiting is the main part of the problem.
INICIATIVA POR LA REGULACION DE LOS CLUBES SOCIALES DE CANNABIS
Researchers state that more than 1,500 cannabis tons are consumed in Spain every year. This huge amount is consumed by approximately 3 million people; 80%, illegally, and, 20%, self-cropping or through cannabis social clubs. Obviously, the rest is forced to deal with illegal market, so the consumer gets at risk. Moreover, researchers show that consumers would be increased if there was clear, effective legislation, instead of current, unsecure legislation.
Next, one of the many citizen initiatives is submitted, in order to thoughtfully regulate the consumption through cannabis social clubs:
The following regulation would aim at three main points:
- -Specific club census.
- -Police intervention protocol on club cases.
- -Good-manner code for proper management.
Marijuana club rules
Next, the specific rules for the proper management of a cannabis social club are suggested as follows:
- – Decisions will be made in assemblies, and clubs will be regularly inspected, from accounting to crop settlements.
- – Production will be planned, appraised and always on partner’s order.
- – Club supplies will be 100% from its own crop, without third parties.
- – Only previous cannabis consumers, over 21, will become partners.
- – Partners will figure out their annual consumption, regarding the whole crop.
- – When shipping, every crop will have its chart with the most important data, and a legal certificate determining that the cannabis belongs to that partnership.
- – Clubs will not display cannabis ads or advocacy.
- – Access will be controlled and partnership restricted.
- – Smoke-free space law will be respected.
Regulation as a part of the solution
Cannabis social club regulation, and the implementation of all these rules, would involve a much better social situation, and extensive benefits, stated as follows:
- -Minors’ access to these substances would be handicapped.
- -Black market would be reduced.
- -Consumers would be conscious about the reduction of consuming harms and risks.
- -Consumption and consumers would be properly controlled.
- -Millions of euro on politics, court, society and prison would be saved.
- -Generated tax incomes would be focused on education, health, science and culture.
- -Thousands of over-21 consumers would deal with this substance, avoiding the black market, dangerous, illegal and unhealthy.
How to set up a cannabis club (SCS)
Now we point the next steps when setting up our own cannabis partnership:
1) Creation and register
Firstly, a constitutive assembly has to be arranged, with three partners as minimum, as a president, a treasurer and a secretary. Then, write and approve the statutes and the foundational act. In Spain, there are some standardized statutes, from Pannagh partnership, one of the first Spanish partnerships. Following up, everything gets official by presenting the documents at the register office of your city hall. Lastly, joining Cannabis Partnership Federation (FAC) is recommendable, so the club gets legalized. Besides, it is something positive because we will be supporting the federation, promoting cannabis culture in Spain.
2) Partner entry and consuming prevision
For more partners, we just need the prospect to fill an entry form, pay for his entry and show his ID, crediting his adulthood; he cannot have public-health penal history, and he has to declare his pretended monthly consumption. Consuming declaration is very important for the partnership, because the sum of all the consumptions will legitimate the final amount of the marijuana in the partnership. Lastly, one partner cannot order more than 60 grams per month.
3) Production
It is a delicate point when setting up a cannabis partnership; the point is self-sufficiency, adjusting the production to the total sum of the partners’ monthly previsions.
Production or acquisition prices have to be communicated to the partners, justifying it and itemizing it for the consumer to be totally informed about; this way, profit partnerships cannot surge, that is, companies focused on taking profit of partners’ consumption.
4) Functioning
Partners’ participation is up to them; there will always be more informed partners willingly. The partnership has the commitment of informing the partners about club economy, administration and society. Besides, the partners involved in the club, in production, accounting, managing or administration, need to have a contract, with a currently-legislated stipulated salary.
