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The Metzineres raise our voices against the closure of cannabis clubs.

The Metzineres firmly oppose the decision by the Barcelona City Council, which, through its prohibitive and regressive policies, has imposed economic sanctions and shut down various cannabis social clubs (CSCs) in the city, jeopardizing an internationally recognized model as a safe and responsible alternative to the unregulated cannabis market.

CSCs have been operating in Barcelona for over 25 years. Since then, they have established themselves as a safe place for consumption, providing reliable information to their members, reducing the risks associated with the unregulated market, and promoting an anti-prohibitionist and stigma-free approach.

The equation is simple: cannabis use will not disappear by prohibiting it; consumption will continue, bringing with it criminalization, stigmatization, and the promotion of violent and abusive policies and practices against us.

CSCs have the potential to support and enhance public policy aimed at improving the health and well-being of consumers and their communities. They allow for a comprehensive approach that, in our case, helps to cope with situations of vulnerability and survive the violence faced by women. While the clubs offer objective information and a safe space providing necessary support in case of consumption-related problems, the city council criminalizes us and forces us to resort to illegal and opaque markets.

While countries such as Uruguay, South Africa, Malta, and Germany already have regulatory legal frameworks for CSCs, the Barcelona City Council makes the arbitrary decision to regress, ignoring robust evidence of the benefits of this pioneering model.

The Metzineres assert that it is urgent to develop drug use policies that respect the human rights of consumers and repair the harm caused by prohibition and criminalization, such as gender violence, imprisonment, and economic and social injustice. It is impossible to build, through prohibitionism, a society where the structural causes of exclusion are eliminated and where everyone has the right to a full, dignified, and violence-free life.