EU targets Spain as Europe’s biggest Marihuana producer

EUROPEAN authorities have joined together in what the Spanish Interior Ministry has referred to as ‘OPERACIÓN VERDE’ (Operation Green) to slow down the production of marihuana in Spain, one of Europe’s leading producers of the drug.

Since the operation started, National Police in Spain have arrested 814 people for growing and selling marihuana, according to statistics from the Interior Ministry.

Around 300 plantations have been busted and 4,516 kilos of marijuana, 5,487 kilos of hashish, 1,748 kilos of cocaine and 13 kilos of heroin have been seized by the 2,000 officers investigating the various drug rings in Spain.

The authorities in and around Europe have taken part in this operation due to the rate that criminal gangs in Spain are exporting marijuana to other countries in Europe via transport companies. The Interior Ministry claim that the number of plants seized rose by 538% between 2013 and 2017.

Spain is a popular place for many marijuana farmers as the plants can be grown outside or inside with advanced hydroponics that are readily available to buy in many specialist stores.

The law also permits each household to have somewhere between four and six plants for personal use although this depends entirely on the perceived usage of the plant and police may still seize them.