Recreational drugs in the spanish penal code

Abstract

A review of the regulations on drug use and trafficking in the Spanish Penal Code is made. Sentences given by the Supreme Court are also examined. The Spanish laws have not a specific regulation on some questions related with drugs. Due to this, jurisprudence is extraordinarily useful to resolve open legal questions in this field. In Spain, illicit drugs are considered those which are so catalogued in international treaties, as most off “recreational drugs”. Drug consumption is not considered as an offence, but it is punished with a fine. In the same way, it is permitted drug possession for self-use. Drug trafficking is punished with imprisonment, which duration depends on the risk for the health of the substance and on the severity of criminal behaviour. The Spanish Penal Code distinguishes between “soft” and “hard” drugs, based on the risk for health. Most important recreational drugs are considered as “hard”, and its trafficking is punished with imprisonment with a minimum of three years and a maximum of twenty years and three months in some extreme cases.