Spain Is the Country That Puts the Most Fines Related to Cannabis In the UE.
Despite being ranked only fourth in regards to numbers of consumers, Spain is the country that puts the most fines related to cannabis.
Large Difference in Number of Fines in Europe
Spain puts more than 300,000 fines yearly for possession or personal use of cannabis on public roads. According to data from the Ministry of the Interior, fines have multiplied by 3.5 since the approval of the gag law.
In comparison, Germany gives around 179,000 fines a year despite having almost twice the population and a consumer rate slightly lower than Spain.
No other European country exceeds 200,000 fines a year. In absolute terms, Germany is second (179,700) and then comes Turkey and Italy, already far behind, with 53,734 and 33,363, respectively.
What does the law say?
Francisco Azorín, a lawyer at the Brotsanbert law firm, believes that part of the problem is due to a culture of the security forces to punish even if there is no display of drug transport in public spaces or of “disproportionate searches and arbitrary”.
Azorín has just published the book Cannabis, Science and Law, in which he reviews the legal situation of the plant in Spain and the problems faced by its users.
“In the rest of Europe, just as they have tougher laws for the cultivation of cannabis, possession is not usually sanctioned with fines, at least the first time,” says Azorín.
The situation is a real problem for users who see fines accumulating as the authorities apply the heaviest penalties for recidivism.
Azorín has handled one case in which a young man has received a fine worth 10,401 euros for carrying a joint and a little bit of cannabis in his pocket, not even for consumption on public roads.
“I have a client with 62,000 euros seized for carrying cannabis in his pocket, you can imagine how he is in mental health” explains the lawyer.
“To search, it needs to be considered necessary, meaning that there must be evidence of criminal activity, something that the police cannot explain in a trial. You cannot go searching people on the street for no reason because the right to privacy prevails,” closes the lawyer.
