Is Weed Legal in Spain? Fines, Private Use and Driving Rules

€601 is the number most visitors meet first. It is the floor of the lowest band for a "serious" offense under Spain's public-safety law, and it applies whether you are holding a gram or smoking a joint on a bench. Drug fines are the backbone of that law: according to Interior Ministry figures reported by Infobae, drug-related sanctions brought in €130 million in 2023, 74% of everything collected under it.

The split that matters is not how much you carry but where you are. Spanish criminal law punishes trafficking, not private consumption, so the same gram is a non-event in your flat and a fine on the pavement outside.

Recreational sales

None; no licensed shops

Private use by adults

Not a crime

Use or possession in public

Serious offense, €601–€30,000 (LO 4/2015 art. 36.16)

Paying within 15 days

Fine cut by 50%, allegations waived (art. 54)

Visible home grow

Serious offense, €601–€30,000 (art. 36.18)

Driving with THC present

€1,000 and 6 points (DGT)

Medical cannabis

Hospital-only since October 10, 2025

Private flat vs. public street: where the fine starts

A fine starts at the door. Article 36.16 of Organic Law 4/2015 lists consumption or possession of illegal drugs "in places, roads, public establishments or collective transport" as a serious offense, even when the drug is not meant for sale, and it also covers dropping the gear you used. Private premises are not on that list.

Serious offenses under the law have three bands, according to article 39.1: €601 to €10,400 (minimum grade), €10,401 to €20,200 (medium) and €20,201 to €30,000 (maximum). The law sets no lower amount, so €601 is the starting point.

How a street-possession fine arrives and what paying early costs you

The fine is not settled on the spot. Police seize the cannabis and write a report; the sanction then comes by post or electronic notification from the authority that handles it, which in Madrid, for example, is the city's sanctions department for Municipal Police reports.

1. Seizure and report
   Officers confiscate the substance and take your details. There is no arrest for personal-use possession on its own.
2. Notice of proceedings
   You receive an "acuerdo de incoación" naming the offense and the proposed amount.
3. Pay within 15 days or object
   Article 54 gives you 15 days: pay and the fine drops by 50%, or file allegations and evidence.
4. If you miss the window
   Madrid's FAQ says a 20% reduction still applies if you pay before the final resolution; after that, the tax agency collects.
5. Appeal after paying
   Early payment closes the case; the only route left is the contentious-administrative courts.

Growing at home: not a crime by default, not a right either

Spain has no plant limit in law. Courts decide whether a grow is for self-consumption, and the Supreme Court's line is that personal use, and cultivation strictly for it, is not a crime. Law-firm summaries of the case law stress that the number of plants alone does not decide it: people have been prosecuted over a single plant and acquitted with 40 or 50.

• Quantity consistent with one person's use — the harvest should match what you plausibly consume.
• No sale indicators — scales, many small bags, cash or messages about deals point to trafficking.
• Nobody else supplied — growing for friends or a group moves toward shared supply, which courts treat far more strictly.
• Out of public view — a visible balcony or garden grow is a separate €601+ administrative fine under article 36.18.

Driving after cannabis: zero tolerance, any trace

Spain does not use a THC limit for drivers. The DGT says the roadside saliva test looks for the presence of drugs, confirmed later in a lab, and a positive result means a €1,000 fine and 6 points off your license whether or not your driving was affected. Driving clearly impaired can become a road-safety crime (three to six months in prison, a fine or community service, plus a ban of one to four years under Penal Code art. 379.2), and refusing the test carries six months to a year in prison and the same ban (art. 383), the DGT says such cases can be criminal.

What changed, and what did not, by September 2026

A reform of the public-safety law agreed in principle in late 2024 is still stuck: eldiario.es reported on June 30, 2026 that its drafting committee had not met at all in 2026. Until the law changes, the €601 floor stands. For clubs, see our guide to Spain's cannabis social clubs; for CBD and hospital cannabis, see CBD in Spain and medical cannabis in Spain. Country overview: Spain hub.