CBD and THC in Spain: What the Difference Means
Walk through Palma and you will pass shops selling CBD oil quite openly, which makes visitors assume cannabis is broadly legal. The explanation is simpler than it looks: CBD and THC are two different compounds and Spanish law treats them differently.
What the two compounds are
THC, tetrahydrocannabinol, is the compound responsible for the psychoactive effect of cannabis — the "high". It is a controlled substance internationally.
CBD, cannabidiol, comes from the same plant family but is not intoxicating. It is used in cosmetics and supplements and does not produce a high at any normal dose.
Why CBD shops can exist
Industrial hemp with a THC content at or below the EU threshold (0,2 to 0,3 percent depending on the rule applied) is an agricultural product rather than a drug. Products made from it can be sold, which is why CBD oils, cosmetics and hemp flowers appear in ordinary shops.
Spanish regulators have been strict about the claims those products may make. CBD is generally sold for external or cosmetic use rather than as a food supplement, because the EU novel food rules for ingestible CBD have not been settled.
Where the line sits
The moment a product exceeds the THC threshold it stops being hemp and becomes cannabis in the eyes of the law, with all the consequences that brings. Labelling is not a defence: what matters is what a laboratory finds.
CBD flower looks and smells like cannabis, and that alone can lead to being stopped and having the product tested. Keep receipts and lab certificates if you buy it.
Medical cannabis
Spain approved a framework for medical cannabis preparations dispensed through pharmacies, and specific licensed medicines such as Sativex have existed for years. It is a narrow, prescription-based route and is not a way for a visitor to obtain cannabis on holiday.