Spain

Drug Law and Policy

In Spain, drug cultivation and production for personal use are permissible by law, as long as the drug is manufactured and used in a private setting. For example, personal growth of marijuana is not illegal if it is cultivated and used on personal property. The Government Delegation for the National Plan on Drugs (GDNPD), as well as other local, state, and national authorities, have set their sights on cutting down public drug use and drug abuse problems by targeting school, family, healthcare, and community settings. Drug education, family intervention for at-risk groups, drug risk awareness, mass media campaigns, and community drug treatment availability are some of the drug abuse prevention strategies outlined in Spain's drug policy. These tactics are part of a plan to cut down on drug abuse and drug-related societal problems. As part of the national drug policy, a harm prevention model was adopted after the 1970s heroin boom in Spain. According to the drug policy, drug abuse [Page 739]is considered a national health problem. Since the harm reduction model was adopted, the Spanish drug plan has adapted its goals to targeting personal drug abuse and to increasing availability of substance abuse treatment.

Public drug use is not a criminal offense, but is punishable by administrative fines (up to 300 euros). However, sometimes individuals charged with public drug use are given an opportunity to opt for treatment of substance abuse in lieu of such fines. The primary drugs used in Spain include marijuana, cocaine, ecstasy, amphetamines, and hallucinogens. Rates of marijuana use, approximately 10 percent of the population between the ages of 15 and 64, are among the highest in Europe.

In the 1970s heroin abuse was a widespread problem in Spain. The high level of heroin use became associated with other medical problems such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, which quickly became a problem among the Spanish population. After employing strategies to educate the public, heroin use has been declining over the past two decades. However, cocaine use is on the rise and has been creating a problem for Spanish youth over the past decade. In fact, based on United Nations data, Spain now has the highest rate of cocaine use in the world, with approximately 3 percent of those between the ages of 15 and 64 using cocaine annually. Currently, educational measures to prevent cocaine use and to create cocaine abuse awareness are targeted at high schools and colleges in Spain. The Spanish drug policy also outlines similar educational tactics and risk awareness measures to target other drugs of abuse.

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