Operation of the Tax Agency and the Municipal Police

• The machines in which the narcotic was offered, identical to the tobacco machines, had been in operation for just three months under a false appearance of legality.

• 30 premises have been inspected and one person has been arrested and four others investigated

• Laboratory analyzes have confirmed the existence of THC, the psychoactive substance in cannabis, in the intervened product, which implies that it is a narcotic, regardless of the percentage of this substance, in accordance with the health and judicial authorities, and the Convention. of the UN on the matter

February 23, 2023.- Customs Surveillance Officials from the Tax Agency, with the support of agents from the Municipal Police of Madrid, Móstoles, Leganés and Getafe, have intervened in 30 vending machines in Madrid in which hashish and marijuana buds were distributed and have arrested one person and investigated four others for alleged smuggling and public health crimes.

The machines in which the narcotic was offered had an identical appearance to the tobacco vending machines. Even the packages 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 that came from Italy. As a result of the operation, the person in charge of receiving the shipment with the narcotics was arrested.

Upon inspection of the vehicle owned by the detainee, numerous packages with marijuana buds and hashish resin were found. Once interrogated, the detainee admitted to the officials that the drugs were used to refill vending machines in Madrid and nearby cities.

Records and sealing of machines

In the following days, the investigation revealed that, in a large number of establishments in the center of Madrid, especially food stores, and in certain stores in Móstoles, Leganés and Getafe, there were machines in which marijuana buds and hashish resin.

From this moment on, the collaboration of the Municipal Police of Madrid and the respective police forces of the other municipalities was requested to be able to proceed with the immediate sealing of the machines.

The machines used, which had been in operation for between two and three months, had the same characteristics as those used to sell tobacco. The way to distribute the buds and hashish was to put the narcotic in packets the same as those of tobacco, so that the machines would not have to be adapted.

False appearance of legality

The text included in the seized packets includes text to give an appearance of legality to the consumer, including, for example, a reference to the Spanish law that adapts the 1961 United Nations Convention ('Vienna Convention') to domestic regulations. in matters of narcotics. Specifically, the packages 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 have the active narcotic ingredient (tetrahydrocannabinol, THC).

To reinforce the message, the packages indicate that the product “lacks the active narcotic ingredient”, but then it is recognized that it does have THC, in a percentage of less than 0.2%. At the same time, the message is added that “this product is 100% legal for collecting” and, at the same time, it is expressly stated that “consumption is prohibited.”

After carrying out laboratory analyzes on the intervened substances, the presence of THC has been confirmed, both in the marijuana buds and in the hashish resin, this being a substance included in the list of narcotic drugs subject to international control by the Vienna Convention. . The 1961 Convention, signed by almost 200 nations, including Spain, establishes that the buds of the plant are subject to control and are narcotic, so their use must be limited to medical and scientific purposes with the corresponding prior authorization for cultivation.

The Convention excludes from inspection the leaves not attached to the buds and seeds of the plant, which can be grown for industrial use only (textile, soaps, etc.) or horticultural use, destroying the rest of the plant.

The references to the THC threshold are established by the regulations on a radically different level from that of the control of narcotics, such as the framework of the Common Agricultural Policy, which allows aid to be activated for hemp producers only if the purpose of the crop is to obtain of fiber, grain or seeds, and with the requirement that the plants do not exceed 0.2% THC concentration (0.3% from January 1, 2023).

As a result of the investigation carried out, instructed by the Investigative Court number 1 of Coslada, those responsible for the companies responsible for the marketing of these products have been charged with crimes of smuggling and crimes against public health.