Seville

Law Enforcement

I barely saw cops in Seville. I took a couple of puffs from a pipe or porro on side streets without a problem, and saw locals doing the same.

Where to Buy Marijuana

At bars and clubs you might meet someone who smoked. You could pay more for less and get poor quality, or get lucky and meet somebody who grew their own.

At the end of Paseo de Colón there was a park by the bridge. We didn’t see smokers there, but went down the stairs to the river and met Moroccan sellers with fairly potent hash.

Marijuana Prices

€20 for about four grams of hash. We asked for twice as much and got offered the first piece for €40. We refused, then paid €30 for what we could have had for €20. Good quality, anyway.

Another quote put weed at US$4–5 a gram or US$15–20 for five grams, usually mid to high quality. Moroccan hash was US$8–10 for five grams, with patchy quality.

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Sunny afternoons and different tastes

At Paseo de Colón and Reyes Católicos, sunny days filled the riverside park with hippies drinking and smoking. We also sat around Plaza de la Encarnación and near Plaza de España. Nobody approached us. Bring water. The heat can get to you.

“If you get some pot, it is better for you,” said Rich. Hash was easier to find but often poor.

Elefunk in Santa Cruz and Fun Club in Alameda de Hércules both felt relaxed about smoking indoors when we went.

A week at the Feria

The April Feria de Sevilla ran for a week and reportedly drew more than a million people. Ariel remembered all-night flamenco, booths, bullfights, horseback riding, flower-decked coaches and street dancing, starting in the afternoon and repeating day after day.

At the Real de la Feria by the Guadalquivir, colorful canvas casetas ran about a mile under paper lanterns. Families and pubs sponsored them. Flamenco went from about 9 p.m. through 7 a.m. Er 77 drew wine by the bucket and had cots in the back. Los Duendes de Sevilla was another stop. In the right tent you might find a joint being passed around with the sangria.

If you could wake up after all that, the bullfight started at 5:30 p.m. at the Plaza de Toros de la Maestranza, nicknamed “The Cathedral,” with some of Spain’s best matadors.

Santa Cruz and the old cultivation debate

Outside festival season, there’s Barrio de Santa Cruz. At Casa Román in Plaza de los Venerables, rows of cured hams hang from the ceiling. Around Plaza Doña Elvira, young guitar players were another part of the scene. David from the U.S. figured you could always find something downtown if you didn’t know where else to look.

Spain’s proximity to Morocco helped shape a cannabis and hash culture described as 1,500 years old. ARSEC’s Felipe Borrallo promoted a “grow-your-own-stone” campaign about leaving the black market and becoming self-sufficient. People talked about growing at home and claimed up to 50 grams was personal use, while divided stock could bring a public-health charge and prison. The newer Marijuana Laws section gives the legal distinction. The 50-gram figure was not a dependable threshold.