The machines in which the drugs were offered had an identical appearance to tobacco vending machines. Even the packets had the same format and dimensions, and text was incorporated into them to give the product a false appearance of legality.
The investigation began at the end of January, when Customs Surveillance of the Tax Agency carried out a controlled delivery of marijuana and hashish resin coming from Italy. As a result of the operation, the person in charge of receiving the shipment with the drugs was arrested.
Upon inspection of the vehicle owned by the detainee, numerous packets of marijuana buds and hashish resin were found. Upon interrogation, the detainee admitted to officials that the drugs were for refilling vending machines in Madrid and nearby cities.
From that moment on, the collaboration of the Madrid Municipal Police and the respective police forces of the other municipalities was requested in order to proceed with the immediate sealing of the machines.
The machines used, which had been in operation for two to three months, had the same characteristics as those used to sell tobacco. In order to distribute the buds and hashish, the method used was to put the narcotic in packets of the same size as those used for tobacco, so that the machines would not have to be adapted.
The text incorporated in the seized cigarette packets includes text to give the appearance of legality to the consumer, including, for example, a reference to the Spanish law adapting the 1961 United Nations Convention ('Vienna Convention') on narcotic drugs to domestic law.
Specifically, the packets point to Article 9 of Law 17/1967, which exempts from a series of restrictions those cannabis crops that are intended for industrial purposes and that do not contain the active narcotic ingredient (tetrahydrocannabinol, THC).
To reinforce the message, the packs state that the product is "free of the active narcotic substance", but then go on to acknowledge that it does contain THC, at a level of less than 0.2%. At the same time, the message that "this product is 100% legal for collector's use" is added and, at the same time, it is expressly stated that "consumption is prohibited".
Laboratory analysis of the seized substances confirmed the presence of THC, both in the marijuana buds and in the hashish resin, which is a substance included in the list of narcotic drugs under international control by the Vienna Convention.
The 1961 Convention, signed by almost 200 nations, including Spain, states that the buds of the plant are controlled and are a narcotic drug, so their use should be limited to medical and scientific purposes with prior authorisation for cultivation.
The Convention excludes from control the leaves not attached to the buds and the seeds of the plant, which can be cultivated for industrial (textiles, soaps, etc.) or horticultural use only, destroying the rest of the plant.
The references to the THC threshold are established by the legislation at a radically different level to that of drug control, such as the framework of the Common Agricultural Policy, which allows the activation of aid to hemp producers only if the purpose of cultivation is to obtain fibre, grain or seeds, and with the requirement that the plants do not exceed 0.2% THC concentration (0.3% from 1 January 2023).
As a result of the investigation carried out by the Coslada Court of Instruction No. 1, those responsible for the companies responsible for marketing these products have been charged with the offences of smuggling and crimes against public health. ■