On the same stretch of street in the district of Eixample of Barcelona There are two bars and a gym affected by the bolts in Catalonia before the second wave of the coronavirus. There is also a place without a label and with a bell at the entrance. Is he Dragon club, one of about 200 legal cannabis societies in the city. Not even Generalitat neither him government They have imposed limitations on establishments that dispense marijuana to their members. The legal loophole has led some of these private clubs to remain open in the last few weeks of restrictions and allow joints to be smoked inside, guided by the security measures that advisers and federations that group the associations have drawn up before the lack of orders.
“Now the product is prepackaged and is not manipulated at the moment. Many clubs do it that way, when people were used to seeing it, touching it and smelling it. It can only be purchased and, within our premises, the user has 20 to 25 minutes to consume it, “he explains Marc, responsible for the Dragon Club. It is inspired by the indications of the Federation of Cannabis Associations of Catalonia (CatFAC): it is essential to make a prior appointment, record data and phone numbers of consumers to contact them in case of a Covid contagion, a half hour to smoke in the room to allow time to disinfect before the next scheduled visit, reserve schedules for the elderly and risk groups and capacity reduced to six people, including association staff.
“We do self-regulation and we force ourselves to be strict, but it would be better than the Health Department intervene with clear recommendations “, he believes Eric Asensio, Secretary of CatFAC. The council responds that it supports the protocol of the federation and that it lacks powers over the entities. The Constitutional Court in 2017 annulled the Catalan law that legislated on cannabic groups.
The absence of cannibalistic societies in the anti-Covid decrees means that not all of them act the same. The law firm DMT guides about thirty entities to grant time just to take the substance home and not smoke in the establishments. “We assimilate it to the risk of contagion in restaurants or bars. As the law is not clear, it must be interpreted by analogy. It does not mean that it is against the law for six people to consume indoors but, for greater prevention, we try to be more s demanding that the norm “, comments the lawyer Martà Cà ships.
The Dragon Club claims that it has an air extraction mechanism that prevents the smoke from concentrating at the risk of spreading the virus. “Many bars and restaurants do not have this system. In addition, the temperature is taken, there is gel at the entrance, when people are not living together they must leave a table in between when consuming and only then can they remove the mask”, lists Marc. Confederation of Federations of Cannabis Associations add guidelines such as no joint sharing, associates bring paper and lighter, and use disposable ashtrays.
Complaints
CÃ naves believes it is hypocritical that the regulations against the infection of cannabis circles, which cultivate and ration the marijuana they distribute to a limited group of affiliates, are ignored: “The decrees do not regulate the petanque associations either, because the rights of Association and meeting cannot be suspended with the state of alarm, although they can be limited, but it is not positive that requirements are not indicated. It implies not recognizing a social reality and keeps hundreds of associations and workers in legal insecurity, who pay taxes and rentals “.
The deregulation of some entities with no more coverage than disparate ordinances in certain localities led to fines against some of them when they reopened in the de-escalation. “You called the Generalitat and they said that you could open it, but you called the Urban Guard and they said no. There were no instructions. It was a tremendous void, “recalls Marc.
The forced closure at the beginning of the pandemic generalized ERTE in the clubs. “Many have not reopened, especially in Barcelona and its metropolitan area, where there are very high rental costs,” says Asensio. In addition, it warns of the decline in the public as a result of the total confinement, which led to a probable transfer of buyers to the illicit sale of drugs. Some entities calculate up to 40% less influx.
“The premises were found closed for months and they went to other routes, in which they continue. It feeds groups dedicated to trafficking and profit”, warns the CatFAC, which prescribes the entities that limit the supply to 60 grams per month per person not to encourage addiction. Chronic patients who resort to cannabis criticized that they were forced to stock up on the black market to alleviate their illnesses between March and June. CÃ naves made requests to different municipalities to tolerate the opening of clubs as an essential activity, similar to pharmacies and tobacconists, and thus prevent the purchase of adulterated marijuana and of criminal origin. “We didn’t get an answer,” he says.
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