Brits could soon be free to smoke weed in Benidorm and Magaluf as Spanish politicians push to legalise the drug
Podemos leader Pablo Iglesias says legalising cannabis would reduce drug trafficking and significantly boost the country's healthcare budget
BRITS could soon openly smoke spliffs on the streets of Magaluf and Benidorm as Spanish politicians renew calls to legalise marijuana.
Podemos leader Pablo Iglesias wants Spain to become the first European country to regulate weed for "medical and research purposes".
He says legalising cannabis would reduce drug trafficking and significantly boost the country's healthcare budget, reports .
The move comes days after Canada became the second country in the world, after Uruguay in 2013, to legalise the possession and use of recreational cannabis.
Under Iglesias' plan, the state would be in charge of handing out licences to plant, harvest and sell the crop.
The Spanish Medical Agency (AEMPS) is currently responsible for authorising cannabis products, but only for clients in countries where it is prescribed as medication.
Iglesias said: "It's absurd that you can buy tequila or gin from a supermarket but marijuana is illegal.
"The legalisation must be implemented mainly for medical use and research."
Podemos believes the proposal will allow institutions to replace the black market and encourage young people to access the drug legally.
Its plan includes a “strong punitive policy for those who break the law” as well as measures to withdraw products being sold to minors or that fail to meet standards from the legal market.
According to data from the National Plan on Drugs, 90 per cent of young people say they have easy or very easy access to cannabis in Spain.
Podemos has not yet outlined how much tax revenue is expected to be generated by legalising marijuana.
But based on the outcomes in America, Iglesias said: "A state production industry could generate enormous revenue that would lead to the best public healthcare in the world."
But Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, of the Socialist Party (PSOE), has refused to enter the debate.
Asked about the issue during his latest visit to Canada, the PM replied, “I’m focused on what I’m doing now. I have enough problems as it is.”
If Podemos' proposal is successful, Spain will follow in the footsteps of Canada, where hundreds of pot-lovers took to the street to celebrate this week.
People can now possess up to 30 grams of marijuana without being arrested.
Those convicted of having that amount in the past are set to be pardoned by authorities.
Official stores in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada's easternmost province, were the first to open after the ban was lifted at midnight on Tuesday.
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In 2017, Canadians spent an estimated £3.5billion on combined medical and recreational use - about £910 per user. The bulk of that spending was on black market marijuana.
Provinces within the country will dictate where a person can consume cannabis, so some residents could be restricted on where they can use the drug.
Canada has had legal medical marijuana since 2001 and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government has spent two years working toward expanding that to include recreational marijuana.
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