In brief

  • Málaga is covered by the same national law as the rest of Spain. Under Article 368 of the Criminal Code, trafficking cannabis, or otherwise promoting, encouraging or facilitating its illegal consumption, is a crime. Using it is not, in itself, a criminal offence.
  • Andalusia has no law of its own on cannabis associations. No national law, and no regional law in force, regulates them.
  • In public places, in bars and other public establishments, and on public transport, using or carrying cannabis is a serious administrative offence. In Málaga, that includes the streets of the centre, the port, the beaches, the metro, the buses and the airport.
  • Since October 2025, standardised cannabis preparations used as medicines have their own rules: only hospital specialists can prescribe them. It's a separate, purely medical framework.
  • The law bans driving with drugs in your body, and driving under their influence is a crime.

No Andalusian law on cannabis associations

Is weed legal in Málaga? It helps to know where the rules come from. People often ask whether Andalusia has a law of its own on cannabis associations. It doesn't. The main laws on cannabis that apply in Málaga, the Criminal Code and the public safety law, are national, the same as everywhere else in Spain. That's true whether you live in the city or you're here for a few days.

Spain's regions, the autonomous communities, pass their own laws on many subjects. Criminal law isn't one of them: the Spanish Constitution reserves it exclusively to the State (Article 149.1.6). That limit is what brought down two regional laws on cannabis associations.

The Constitutional Court struck down both Navarre's 2014 law on cannabis users' collectives and Catalonia's 2017 law on cannabis consumers' associations, in ruling 144/2017 (14 December 2017) and ruling 100/2018 (19 September 2018). Each time, it held that the regional law strayed into criminal law.

In the Basque Country, Article 83 of a 2016 addictions law still stands, but only on a narrow reading (ruling 29/2018, 8 March 2018). It simply requires associations of adult cannabis users to collaborate with the health authorities. Nothing in that ruling gives associations a legal basis for supplying cannabis to their members.

Andalusia has no law of this kind. It does have its own law in this area: Law 4/1997 of 9 July, on prevention and assistance in matters of addiction (until 2021, its title referred to drugs). It covers prevention, care and social support for people with addictions. It doesn't regulate cannabis associations.

So no national law regulates cannabis associations, and no regional law in force does so, in Andalusia or anywhere else. Our guide Is weed legal in Spain? covers the national rules in full.

Private use and public places in the city

The key national rule is Article 368 of the Criminal Code (Código Penal). It makes it a crime to traffic in illegal drugs, to "otherwise promote, encourage or facilitate" their illegal consumption, or to possess them for those purposes. Using cannabis is not, in itself, a criminal offence, and in a private place, such as your own home, personal use falls outside Article 368.

Out in public, a different law applies. Under Article 36.16 of Organic Law 4/2015, Spain's public safety law, it's a serious administrative offence to use or carry illegal drugs in public places, on public roads, in public establishments or on public transport, even if they aren't intended for trafficking. It isn't a crime, but it can lead to a fine.

In Málaga, that covers most of the places people ask about:

  • The historic centre. Calle Larios, the squares and the side streets around the cathedral are public places, however quiet they are late at night.
  • The port and the parks. The promenade at Muelle Uno, the Palmeral de las Sorpresas and the Paseo del Parque are open to everyone, benches and gardens included.
  • The beaches. La Malagueta, Pedregalejo, El Palo and the rest are public places, and the beach bars, the chiringuitos, are public establishments.
  • Bars, restaurants and terraces. These are public establishments too. Owners, managers or people in charge who allow drug use there, or don't take reasonable care to prevent it, also commit a serious offence (Article 36.19).
  • Getting around. The metro, the city buses and the C1 train are public transport, and the rule applies on board as well as at stations and stops.
  • The airport. The terminal is a public place, and the train and buses into the city are public transport.

It isn't only using that counts: having cannabis on you in a public place is enough, even if it's only for yourself. Hotels and holiday flats also set their own rules for guests. If you're not sure whether a place counts as public, treat it as public.

Medicinal cannabis since October 2025

In October 2025, Spain brought in new rules on medicinal cannabis.

The rules are in Royal Decree 903/2025 of 7 October. It was published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) on 9 October 2025, has been in force since 10 October 2025, and sets the conditions for standardised cannabis preparations used as medicines. Two points matter in practice:

  • Only specialist doctors working in hospital care can prescribe them.
  • Hospital pharmacy services prepare and supply them.

It's a purely medical framework. Cannabis associations don't appear in the decree, and it leaves the rules on non-medical use, set out above, unchanged.

A cannabis association is not a medical service, Honey included. If you have a health question about cannabis, ask your doctor.

Cannabis associations near Málaga

A cannabis association, sometimes called a cannabis social club, is a private, non-profit association of adult members. People join in their own name, agree to the association's rules and meet on its premises, which aren't open to the public.

Being on a register of associations doesn't authorise any activity involving cannabis. And prosecutors look at what an association actually does, not only at what its statutes say: that's the approach set out in Instruction 2/2013 of Spain's State Public Prosecutor's Office (Fiscalía General del Estado).

Membership doesn't change the rules outside an association's doors either. The street, the beach and the bus are public places, for members like everyone else.

For the court rulings on associations, and what membership usually involves, see our guide How do cannabis clubs work in Spain?

Honey Weed Club isn't in Málaga. We're a private, non-profit cannabis association in Benalmádena, about 20 km by road west of the city, on Avenida Antonio Machado near Puerto Marina. Membership is only for adults aged 18 and over. Registration is completed in person, at the club, with your original identity document, and you agree to the club rules when you join. Consumption stays on the premises.

Driving

Plenty of people drive around Málaga, including in cars hired at the airport. The rules are strict, and clear.

Under Spain's traffic law, you can't drive with drugs present in your body (Royal Legislative Decree 6/2015, Article 14.1). The one exception is medicines taken on prescription for therapeutic purposes, as long as the driver is still fit to drive. Feeling fine doesn't settle it: what counts is whether drugs are present.

Drug tests are done with a saliva sample (Article 14.3). Separately, driving under the influence of drugs is a crime under Article 379.2 of the Criminal Code.

If you've used cannabis, don't drive. Take the metro, a bus, the C1 train or a taxi instead.

Coming from Málaga? Here's the train and bus to the club.

Sources

All sources are official Spanish documents, in Spanish.

This is general information about Spanish law, not legal advice. Laws and court rulings change. For your own situation, please speak to a qualified lawyer.

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