Is Cannabis / THC legal in Spain?

Also known as: weed, marijuana

Legal status

Controlled in Spain as an estupefaciente, by incorporation of the 1961 Convention lists rather than by a Spanish table. Ley 17/1967 article 2 provides that «se consideran estupefacientes las sustancias naturales o sintéticas incluidas en las listas I y II de las anexas al Convenio Único de mil novecientos sesenta y uno de las Naciones Unidas, sobre estupefacientes y las demás que adquieran tal consideración en el ámbito internacional, con arreglo a dicho Convenio y en el ámbito nacional por el procedimiento que reglamentariamente se establezca». The INCB Yellow List 65th edition of July 2026 prints «CANNABIS» under code NC 001 in the section for List I of the 1961 Convention, described as «sumidades, floridas o con fruto, de la planta de cannabis». The list also prints «RESINA DE CANNABIS» and «EXTRACTOS y TINTURAS» of cannabis. Ley 17/1967 article 9 lifts the cultivation licensing rules only for cannabis grown «destinada a fines industriales, siempre que carezca del principio activo estupefaciente» (for industrial purposes, provided it lacks the narcotic active principle).

Consequences if caught

Código Penal article 368 punishes «Los que ejecuten actos de cultivo, elaboración o tráfico, o de otro modo promuevan, favorezcan o faciliten el consumo ilegal de drogas tóxicas, estupefacientes o sustancias psicotrópicas, o las posean con aquellos fines» (those who cultivate, manufacture or traffic, or otherwise promote, favour or facilitate illegal consumption, or possess for those purposes). The penalty is «prisión de tres a seis años y multa del tanto al triplo del valor de la droga objeto del delito si se tratare de sustancias o productos que causen grave daño a la salud» (three to six years and a fine of one to three times the value of the drug, for substances causing grave harm to health) and «de prisión de uno a tres años y multa del tanto al duplo en los demás casos» (one to three years and a fine of one to two times the value, in other cases). Prison and fine are imposed together, not as alternatives. The article names no substance, so which branch applies is for the court; this cell does not assign one. Article 369 imposes the next higher degree and a fine «del tanto al cuádruplo» where an aggravating circumstance applies, among them «Fuere de notoria importancia la cantidad de las citadas sustancias» (the quantity is of notorious importance). No statute fixes that quantity. It is a sentencing aggravation the court assesses, not an amount anyone may lawfully hold. Membership of a criminal organisation under article 369 bis carries «prisión de nueve a doce años» for substances causing grave harm and «prisión de cuatro años y seis meses a diez años» otherwise. Article 368 itself allows a lower penalty: «los tribunales podrán imponer la pena inferior en grado a las señaladas en atención a la escasa entidad del hecho y a las circunstancias personales del culpable» (the courts may impose the penalty one degree lower in view of the minor scale of the act and the offender's personal circumstances), but not where article 369 bis or 370 applies: «No se podrá hacer uso de esta facultad si concurriere alguna de las circunstancias a que se hace referencia en los artículos 369 bis y 370.» (this power may not be used if any circumstance referred to in articles 369 bis and 370 is present). Article 370 goes the other way: «Se impondrá la pena superior en uno o dos grados a la señalada en el artículo 368 cuando» (the penalty one or two degrees above that of article 368 is imposed when), among other cases, the conduct is of extreme gravity, which includes where «la cantidad de las sustancias a que se refiere el artículo 368 excediere notablemente de la considerada como de notoria importancia» (the quantity notably exceeds that regarded as of notorious importance). Article 368 reaches possession only when it is «con aquellos fines», that is, for those trafficking purposes. No provision read for this cell makes possession for one's own use in private a crime; that is not a legalisation, because supply stays criminal under the same article. In public the matter is administrative, not criminal. Ley Orgánica 4/2015 article 36 lists among the serious infringements, at item 16, «El consumo o la tenencia ilícitos de drogas tóxicas, estupefacientes o sustancias psicotrópicas, aunque no estuvieran destinadas al tráfico, en lugares, vías, establecimientos públicos o transportes colectivos» (illicit consumption or possession, even when not meant for trafficking, in public places, roads, establishments or collective transport). Article 39.1 sets the fine for a serious infringement: «las graves, con multa de 601 a 30.000 euros», in a minimum grade «de 601 a 10.400» and higher grades «de 10.401 a 20.200 euros» and «de 20.201 a 30.000 euros»; article 33.2 starts at the minimum grade «La comisión de una infracción determinará la imposición de la multa correspondiente en grado mínimo.» These figures are a fine range, not a permitted quantity. On cultivation, article 368 names «actos de cultivo» (acts of cultivation) among the acts that «promuevan, favorezcan o faciliten el consumo ilegal» (promote, favour or facilitate illegal consumption), while Ley Orgánica 4/2015 article 36.18 makes a serious administrative infringement of «La ejecución de actos de plantación y cultivo ilícitos de drogas tóxicas, estupefacientes o sustancias psicotrópicas en lugares visibles al público» (illicit planting and cultivation of toxic drugs, narcotics or psychotropic substances in places visible to the public), «cuando no sean constitutivos de infracción penal» (when they do not amount to a criminal offence). Where one ends and the other begins for a given grower is a matter of case law, which was not read for this cell. Import or export without authority is also smuggling: Ley Orgánica 12/1995 article 2.3 a) applies whatever the value «Cuando el objeto del contrabando sean drogas tóxicas, estupefacientes, sustancias psicotrópicas», and article 3.1 sets «las penas de prisión de uno a cinco años y multa del tanto al séxtuplo del valor de los bienes, mercancías, géneros o efectos». Article 3.1 also directs that, outside three listed cases, «En los demás casos previstos en el artículo 2 las penas se impondrán en su mitad superior.» How a court combines that offence with article 368 in a given case is not settled in this cell. Ley 17/1967 article 30 provides «Las sustancias estupefacientes tienen el carácter de artículos estancados, y el contrabando de las mismas será perseguido, juzgado y sancionado con arreglo a los preceptos de la vigente Ley de Contrabando.» No statute read authorises a cannabis club to cultivate or supply. The Constitutional Court annulled the Navarra club law in Sentencia 144/2017 («declarar que la Ley Foral 24/2014, de 2 de diciembre, reguladora de los colectivos de usuarios de cannabis en Navarra, es inconstitucional y nula») and the Catalan law in Sentencia 100/2018 («declarar la inconstitucionalidad y nulidad de la Ley del Parlamento de Cataluña 13/2017, de 6 de julio, de las asociaciones de consumidores de cannabis»). A Basque provision survives only as read down in Sentencia 29/2018: article 83 of Ley 1/2016 is not unconstitutional «siempre que se interprete que, sin predeterminar el tipo de asociación que son las entidades de personas consumidoras de cannabis, se limita a prever que deben cumplir ciertas funciones de colaboración con la Administración sanitaria», which gives no permission to supply. Reports that clubs operate in practice describe enforcement, not a rule of law, and were not verified for this cell. Separately, Orden SCO/190/2004, an order made under the former Ley 25/1990, lists row 28 as «Cannabis sp.» among plants whose sale to the public «así como la de sus preparados, queda prohibida por razón de su toxicidad» (and that of their preparations, is prohibited because of their toxicity). That is a sale rule, not drug control. Its current force is not established: the BOE record read on 2 October 2026 shows no later amendment or annulment, and a 2005 Audiencia Nacional judgment is reported in secondary listings as declaring the order void; that judgment was not read. No penalty is stated from the order.

If prescribed or medical

Spain runs two medicine control regimes side by side: narcotic medicines under Ley 17/1967 and psychotropic medicines under Real Decreto 2829/1977. Ley 17/1967 article 19 provides that sale or dispensing of narcotic preparations «solamente podrán efectuarse a través de las oficinas de Farmacia legalmente establecidas, sobre la base de las correspondientes prescripciones de los facultativos Médicos, Odontólogos-Estomatólogos y Veterinarios, formuladas en dosis terapéuticas y en recetas oficiales» (only through licensed pharmacies, on a doctor's, dentist's or vet's prescription in therapeutic doses on official prescription forms). The Spanish medicines register (CIMA), queried on 2 October 2026 by active ingredient «dronabinol», lists 1 product carrying it of 1 record returned; their conditions are 1 hospital diagnosis, psychotropic (printed «Diagnóstico Hospitalario. Psicótropos»). That product is registered as SATIVEX, and the Yellow List index maps it to the cannabis extract entry: «Sativex → EXTRACTOS DE CANNABIS». A separate regime for standardised cannabis preparations exists under Real Decreto 903/2025, which was not read for this cell.

Documentation

For a traveller with a prescribed controlled medicine, the Spanish medicines agency's guidance (page updated 28 de agosto de 2026) says «Para personas que viajen a España con medicamentos estupefacientes o psicótropos, la cantidad máxima de medicamento permitida es para tres meses de tratamiento, excepto para cannabis o sus derivados, para los que la cantidad máxima de medicamento permitida es para 15 días.» (for travellers to Spain the maximum is three months of treatment, except cannabis or its derivatives, for which it is fifteen days). That is a ceiling on a prescribed treatment, not an allowance for anyone without a prescription. Above a set quantity the traveller also needs a permit: «además deberá disponer de un certificado/permiso emitido por las autoridades sanitarias españolas» (must also hold a certificate or permit issued by the Spanish health authorities), applied for at least ten days ahead with a medical certificate and the original prescription.

Drug laws and enforcement change and vary within a country. This is not legal advice. Always confirm with Spain’s embassy or official drug authority before traveling; penalties can be severe, including imprisonment.