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After hearing all about the Barcelona Cannabis Clubs Scene, it was about time we ventured to the famous Catalonian city to see what all the fuss was about.
After booking our flights from Bristol, it was on to finding accommodation. After searching most popular hotel / apartment websites we were recommended Airbnb by the London Cannabis Club. After contacting a few possible rentals I came across a charming apartment with a terrace, not far from the historic Parc Guell I proceeded to email Jon who was the owner of the apartment and I thought to myself, I’m going to be cheeky here and come right out with it. The whole purpose of the visit was to experience the social scene after all. So after a few email exchanges about dates and numbers, I slipped in the question “Are you accommodating to the local social scene that’s popping up all over Barcelona” After a few days wait there was a response in my inbox from Jon, what would it say?
Well to my surprise Jon had responded with the most encouraging news. He proceeded to tell me he was a member of 4 of the best clubs in Barcelona and he would be more than willing to accommodate our needs, and most importantly of all his place is Green Friendly. He also asked if we would like him to visit the club and stock up on some fine Spanish herbs for us to sample on our arrival.
A warm fuzzy glow took over my body and I proceeded to book the flat that instant. So now with accommodation and flights booked it was just a matter of waiting for the departure day Friday 6th June.
So the big day had arrived and as usual as part of my morning routine, I scanned the news with a morning Spiff and coffee. To my horror, Bristol airport had a fire in one of their basements. It happened in the early hours of Friday morning. Causing a power failure throughout all of the terminals, grounding 1000’s of passengers and flights. To cut a long story short our flight to Barcelona was delayed for 4 hours which meant a 6-hour wait. As someone who suffers from back problems being stuck somewhere like an airport for long periods of time is a real nightmare. On top of that it must be stag and hen season because the airport was a Zoo. I don’t mind people who have a drink but when police have to shut all the bars and duty-free shops because people are generally acting like adolescents. It does make you wonder about British drink culture, and how glad I am for not being any part of it.
After such a long day it was such a relief to have some nice herbs waiting for us from Barcelona Cannabis Clubs. Thanks to two good compadre’s that had flown ahead of us. We quickly skinned up as fast as our tired little fingers could roll. Light, inhale exhale you get the picture. Man, we were blazed: Soma x mazar, G13 x haze, early skunk and critical plus. Pretty much knocked everyone for six and after that flight fiasco and that’s just what the doctor ordered.
The colours, the smells, the sun and the alleys, followed by fresh fruit growing on the side of the street, Barcelona as a place is beautiful. Once we had got over the beautiful freshly cooked food and the luscious amounts of Spanish meat being sold in the local markets. We were ready to make our way to the Social Club.
Our host was taking us to what he called his “HQ” he told us that the Greenage was a nice place and that the people there would be more accommodating to us “tourists”. Plus we’d already sampled the goods the night before and we’re eager to experience more. It was a member’s only club so our host had to sign us in.
It’s difficult to know where to start. So we’ll start with at the beginning. As far as Barcelona Cannabis Clubs go, the Greenage is quite hard to find. It’s on a main drag near the Diagonal line / La pau Metro but you would never know it was there. A large non-descriptive door with a camera buzzer greets you. The reception area is modern although a tad on the dark side. You will need your ID (passport) and of course a member to vouch for you. There’s a form to fill in (in Spanish) although the receptionist was very helpful and spoke good English. During the signup process you will asked to agree to allow the Greenage to grow you 80 Grams of flowers per month in your name. You will also be required to pay 20 euros for a year’s membership of the club. I’m not quite sure how the whole system works but you might want to be aware that your name, passport details and the fact that you are a member of a cannabis social club will be stored on a Spanish database.
Once the signup is completed you get your membership card, which similar to a credit card with a chip in it. No transactions inside the club are done with cash or credit cards. You deposit funds to your membership card in reception then spend it in the club.
After you’ve loaded the card you are then buzzed into the main club area. You walk into a long room lined with interesting art on the walls. There are also several sets of comfy chairs and tables lining the room before you walk into the main area. In here are more comfy chairs and leather sofas. The bud tenders bar, along with volcano’s for vaping a DJ booth and HD projector. The first thought in your head is why this doesn’t exist at home. A place of peace and tranquillity where one can meet up with friends listen to relaxed chilled out music being played I have to say by a very attractive female DJ. Another long room leads off to the bar. The bar was stocked the usual items such as soft drinks, beer, coffee and an array of cocktails. You could also order fresh juices and smoothies, which were particular good.
Also available at the bar were cannabis brownies and truffles for 6 euros 4 euros respectfully. The prices were outstanding, an average round which consisted of 3 cokes, 2 coffees and 2 beers was a mere 10 euros. This was the perfectly balanced place for all types of people to hang out smokers and non-smokers alike. Even better is that everyone is well behaved, possibly due to the fact that someone has vouched for you to join the club, in effect everyone is responsible for everyone. A great system if you ask me.
Next to the bar was an awesome looking electronic darts machine and at the end of the bar was a pool table. Scattered around the club on bespoke made shelves were almost every board game ever conceived, albeit the Spanish versions. Tucked under a gleaming chandelier was a reading desk with all the days local newspapers for club members to enjoy free of charge. The Club also had great daily food offers for members to sample at subsidised rates.
Now on to the good stuff. The menu is not as extensive as one might expect in one of Amsterdam’s coffee shops. There was a selection of Cannabis ranging from 6 – 10 euros a gram. They also had a selection of iceolator hash ranging from 10 – 50 euros and a selection of wax’s and budder from 40 – 80 euros. The excellent thing about this is you can always ask for half a gram costing you less if you would just like to sample the different strains.
Also behind the bud-tenders bar were a selection of smoking paraphernalia such as rolling papers, filter tips etc. Like most Amsterdam coffee shops they also offered a large box of papers and roach card at the desk.
Here is an example of the weed they had available. (Note that some of these came to 10 euro’s for 1.5 grams if you wanted to equal out your costs)
*price per gram
The quality of the weed was outstanding, albeit mostly sun-grown this does not hamper the quality of the smoke. The Catalans seem to prefer Sativa strains taking up an average of 70 % of the menu. Indica strains did have a presence on the menu but were over shadowed for the locals love for the cerebral high strains. Unfortunately, the club did not have a presence of high CBD which was a shame given we had medical users in our party.
Next to the bar was a volcano vaporizer with an ample supply of bag refills. Also, there was an array of bongs and most importantly and oil rig to sample the amazing wax’s that were on offer. While I’ve had the privilege to sample both R.S.O and BHO in the UK the idea of wax was new and appealing. I was well aware of my high cannabis tolerance as a medicinal user I probably consume more than the average person. But nothing could prepare me for what was going to be my first dab.
We had stocked up on Pot of gold budder 80 euros a gram and some Critical wax shatter for 40 euros a gram.
The POG budder looked like it had travelled millions of miles through our atmosphere burning up until it formed some sort of cosmic moon rock. But it was far from moon rock – this was cannabis concentrate. Extracted and vacuum purged to perfection. The taste was so sweet and reminded us of Parma Violet sweets. The pot of gold was twice the price of the shatter and at this point it was hard to tell if it warranted the 80 euro a gram price tag. But the Critical shatter taste was equally amazing, with a much more pungent earthy taste and half the price of POG budder at 40 euros a gram.
The high? Well remember that first ever joint, remember that first feeling when you first hit Mary Jane for that very first time. The moment when time itself stops and your body becomes one with your mind. Times that by 50 holy cow! Dabbing is new to me, even down to heating the titanium nail to melt the concentrate. But it is rather exciting, loading this space age looking oil rig contraption with wax on a skillet and slowly lowering it onto a red hot piece of titanium, as you suck away at this Jurassic park amber looking cannabis concentrate. Wow mind blown and to be fair this dabbing proved to be a little much for some of your so-called hardened smokers. But for my medical needs, it was sublime, the shooting pains in my legs stopped instantly. I could feel my muscles unwind and melt away from my lower back. The cramp in my hand from using the walking stick was easing. Hell, I could get used to this kind of relief.
For most of us, the strength of dabbing didn’t put us off. Although it’s like anything, a learning curve. Finding how much to take is a process and one that shouldn’t be taken lightly. Take it slow and easy and build up is my safe advice. The less you take the more you can experience the true candy like terpenes that are released when you smoke concentrates. But be warned you’re going to get HIGH !
The club has just celebrated its 3rd anniversary – It has a fresh and new feeling that is unparalleled elsewhere in the cannabis scene. We felt a feeling of belonging, we were, of course all now part of the Green age family. No one could do more to assist you whether it be learning how to use an oil rig for the first time, answering questions about their supply to delivering hot coffees directly to your table.
Forget Amsterdam, the Spanish Cannabis Clubs model is the Future. A place with peaceful vibes and a safe place to consume cannabis, even with the permitted sale and consumption of alcohol on site.
It’s hard to believe that in today’s day of prohibition and austerity, simple things like drug consumption is ignored. Black market profiteers are welcomed under current prohibition models, harms are increased to the user and society. The cannabis social club squashes the ideology that cannabis cannot be safely consumed by responsible adults. We have witnessed this first hand, from the middle-aged couple who came in bought a coffee, rolled a spiff and played Yatzi together for several hours, to the groups of Spanish locals drinking wine and relaxing with a dab or two.
This is the most civilised adult social club we have ever had the privilege to witness. And ironically it’s also a place to consume a psychoactive substance safely with reduced harms to EVERYONE.
Pictures by justjoe + Arnie420
Words by Four Twenty Travellers
