Driving After Cannabis in Spain: Saliva Test, €1,000, 6 Points

The line drivers quote, 'I smoked two days ago', matters less in Spain than the wording of the statute. The offence is presence, not impairment, and the test is designed to find presence.

What the Traffic Act says, article by article

The prescription clause: read it carefully

Article 14(1) excludes substances used under medical prescription with a therapeutic purpose, provided the driver is in a condition to drive with the diligence, caution and attention the Act demands. It does not say that a prescription is a defence in itself: the second half of the clause is a fitness test.

A patient prescribed cannabis in Spain's hospital-only scheme (see our note on hospital access) should carry the prescription. A patient with a foreign one should not assume it counts. Verdex found no case law in the sources opened on how the clause is applied to cannabis.

What to do with the timing question

• Assume no safe interval: the offence is presence; how long THC remains detectable in saliva depends on use, see detection windows.
• Don't refuse the test: refusal is itself a very serious offence with the same €1,000 fine and 6 points.
• Know the contrast test: the roadside screen is followed by analysis of a saliva sample, and on request the tests can be repeated for contrast, preferably as a blood analysis; the driver pays for it if it also comes back positive (art. 14(5)).
• Pay attention to the notice: if you are fined, the deadlines in our fine procedure guide apply to security-law fines; traffic fines follow art. 94 of the Traffic Act: paying within 20 calendar days cuts the fine by 50 per cent but waives objections and makes the sanction final, and the 6 points come off once a sanction is final.