Consume and marijuana growing has proliferated in Spain (in the last decades) multiplying specialized shops, and a whole industry that works just for self-growers. Covereds by a "semi-legal impunity", growers (that used to grow in secret) have derived (in the last years) to Clubs and Smoker Associations opennings that offer their members the comodities of getting dried marijuana flowers.
First Grow Shops
More than a decade ago, first Grow Shops opened their doors. Those shops specialized in marijuana growth, indoors and outdoors, have been a peregrination spot for years to all those growers that wanted to learn and share experience with others. By their way Grow Shops have been an example of a colective that has improved becoming more professional day by day, reaching the actual level where every single one can enter to a shop, ask and get infected by a love to a plant and a new way of life.
Increasing of the cannabis Areas
Almost 20 years since the first grow shop in Spain give bunch of stories (we haven't been quiet and have been noisy). Proliferation of shops comes from, cityside or countryside, many entrepreneurs that want to be involved in this huge colective. Even in some spanish towns we can see 15 or more shops! What does this mean? A normalization is comming. A normalization of this sector made by growers that came to one of those shops and bought whatever. All those growers in one, become what nowadays is a huge Horticulture industry completely specialized in marijuana growth.
If we understand cannabis activism is more than a date on a calendar, or make popular a substance, and we see what's on the back, we'll find day-by.-day of every single person that wakes up daily to go working like every other one. In these cases: In something they love! There is thousand opinions about new shops, older ones, or the ones are yet to come. The main thing is that nowadays companies eat from benefits so we can not pretend to find a shop that doesn't, but entering to a grow shop we'll open the door of a cannabis lover and that is a guerantee of much more than you'll find in many other bussiness.
Thanks to the demand, many companies have bet for marijuana, so they give jobs to hundreds of people walking for progress. Many seed banks, fertilizing companies, substrates or lightning equipments (in between others) are now a fact.
What is cannabis normalization?
From SantYerbasi we do understand that nomalization of cannabis means marijuana is present and doesn't affect anybody to be there. The thing is not to make populism about a substance neither impose any idea to ones that think oposite. We do understand that normalization comes by hand of every single individual: In every own consideration to create a self criteria about cannabis. The day that every person walk from negativity to tolerance, all society surrounding will win on normalization. Is not a question of fomenting the consume to those are not consumers, neither explain half truths. Normalization arrives when a no consumer values non negatively the consume. In few years, cannabis will be an option and will no longer be a worry. That day society will get something priceless: More than a plant, RESPECT.
People's idea about marijuana consumers has changed. Few years ago, consumer was seen as a very stoned person, apathetic, a person with lack of activity. Nowadays milions of consumers worldwide work hard every day and take their dose after a long journey to relax. They are people with all social demands covered, that arrives home and wants to relax like others who go to gym, connect to facebook or whatever. Society is changing perceptions on cannabis from something negative to the feeling of something familiar that "is there, doesn't disturb, and can solve problems if needed"..
The other activism: Smoker Associations
By other way to difusion of knowledge of growth (made by Grow Shops), a new phenomenom has appeared: Smoker Associations or Smoker Clubs. These clubs are a close member associations that contribute to grow in group what they can not grow alone (for circumstances or space requirements). Legal situation in Spain is giving a chance to hundreds of people decided to be a part of this cannabis group. We say chance because until today police and court instances hace increased their interest proportionally to the Clubs growth.
A very simple formula: Meet a member that guarantee you, pay the anual quote for members, and contribute to Club to get stuff needed. The association model is clear; A huge place, with big spaces to relax, large strain catalogue, waterhash, bho... Members can go to club and not only consume, they can share ideas, experiences and many more...
Recently cases like catalan vilage called Rasquera, with the will of renting some lands for cannabis growth, is a reflect of an association, with thousands of members, that tries to get a big enough legal area to grow weed needed by their members. Seems that some clubs have more than 10.000 members, so they need a bigger place to grow their needs.
It looks like (because of the negative to Rasquera, the ministery of Justice does not like the idea of big extensions of growth any latitude. In the last years many growers have been busted by police allarround Spain. It is true, many associations keep open, continuing with their activities, but their growers are being called by a law system that doesn't have a clear idea of what to do.
Give back to Caesar what it's Caesar's: Smoker associations have reached something positive: Patients, can easily access to cannabis. Just because of this, they should keep on working. Looking back to normalisation, we should give a +1 to these clubs that facilitate and integrate members instead of marginate them for wanting access to their favourite plant.
2 Attitudes: 1 Activism
Like in many other themes, marijuana has been and will be object of many discussions, not only from others, from ourselves too. Forms and attitutdes are reflects of what we are, our personality and needs. Some will say: Most idylic thing is to live together in peace and sharing everything. Other will say: Society is what it is, so you need to be rich to live as best as you can. We are not here to imponse any truth, the only truth that takes sense is Freedom. One can choose to colaborate, for a few grams, or choose the experience of growing marijuana.
Our attitude is to teach everybody to grow what they want/need for its self, so they don't need to buy anymore. "Give man a fish and he will eat one day, teach him to fish and he will eat for a lifetime".
If cannabis activism defines the battle against depenalization, nowadays there is a huge war against prohibitionism.
Price of self growing
Anyone, with a minimum of space indoors or a balcony or terrace, can grow marijuana at home. fertilizers, soils or seed costs are nothing compared with getting some grams in a club or dealer. There is no comparative between self growing or buying. Nobody will know better than you do what happened during your dried flowers growth. We will save money, and find a nice experience growing weed.
Laws, justice, courts and Smoker Clubs
Actually, in spanish state, associations can declare, or not, their money actions. Comontly called voluntary VAT, Clubs can decide if declaring or not their economic balances, so under state's collections this is a tiny aportation. When some say that goverment takes money from this movement, they should think about it. Clubs are giving the state few Euros, so it is not strange to see persecution to some of those assotiations.
Juridical situation is unpredictable: We hear voices from activism that say that nothingmore can happen but legalization, but we read on the newspapers many police acts against growth. In theory (court's sentences are very confuse), association is a right, but it is not clear how can a club that it's been growing something ilegal can distribute their associates.