Spanish Police Destroy $108M In Hemp Plants, Dismantle 'Europe's Biggest' Cannabis Farm

“Europe’s biggest cannabis plantation,” was dismantled in Spain this week when the Spanish police destroyed 415,000 hemp plants worth around €100 million ($108 million) reports Reuters.

It is estimated that some 50 tons of hemp plants were being dried in a warehouse in preparation for extracting CBD. The illegal farm in rural northern Navarre was comprised of 11 fields or 67 hectares (166 acres), according to the  Guardia Civil (Spanish police). Spanish police arrested three people during the raid.

What are Spain's cannabis/hemp laws?

Like most of Europe, Spain prohibits cannabis/hemp cultivation except for industrial use, which includes textiles and seeds, per the Agriculture Ministry. While CBD sale and use is legally permitted, cultivating hemp plants for the purpose of extracting CBD or other derivatives is a criminal offense.

According to the Guardia Civil, one of the fields was initially discovered last year. The owner of the farm originally reported it as a legal operation to produce industrial hemp, which was later found not to be true. The owner was planning to ship large amounts to Italy and Switzerland for processing into CBD.

Recent Cannabis Developments In Europe 

According to a recent polling data, released by Hanway Associates and reported by Curaleaf International, one of the vertically integrated marijuana companies in Europe, the majority of Europeans support legal, government-regulated marijuana sales to adults over 18. The survey questioned more than 9,000 people, out of which 55% said they are in favor of legal recreational cannabis, 20% said they were indifferent and the remaining 25% were against it.

Some 48% support regulated retail marijuana shops, 35% favor home cultivation and 32% support social clubs. Interestingly, home grow garnered the most opposition with 41% against it.

The EU’s openness to cannabis legalization should not come as a surprise as Europeans are witnessing the economic benefits in United Stated, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, when cannabis use jumped and lots of money was made selling and delivering it during the lockdown.

What’s more, numerous European countries have legalized marijuana for specific medical purposes and others have decriminalized general use while some are currently testing these two options in the form of pilot programs, such as France. 

Just last year, Luxembourg was the first European country to legalize growing weed for personal use, while Malta became the first on the continent to officially legalize cannabis. Many industry experts believe that Germany might be next in line to go fully recreational.

Some five years ago Germany decriminalized medical cannabis. Last year’s analyses from the Institute for Competition Economics (DICE) at Dusseldorf Heinrich Heine University suggested that a fully legal cannabis market could bring Germany up to €3.4 billion ($3.85 billion) in tax revenue.

The European market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 67.4% from 2021 to reach €3.2 billion ($3.49 billion) by 2025, according to a report by the research firm Prohibition Partners.

These figures would be even higher if more countries would have changed their laws and set up regulated marijuana programs. Nevertheless, the progress, although slow, is happening already.

Photo: Courtesy of CRYSTALWEED cannabis on Unsplash