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there's no way for a country in the EU to legalize cannabis and the production not flowing to the others. legalization needs to happens in the entire union

Congratulations to drugs for winning the War on Drugs!

There were spider mites on the weed in the one basement grow you can see the web on the bud. The whole crop is probably compromised. Hopefully it’s not being sold like that.

Amsterdam punching the air rn

"Inside Europe's Cannabis Capital" I thought this video was gonna be about The Netherlands lmao

When I first moved to Colorado I was excited to get into the industry, I came prepared. I had a thousand or so seeds comprised of 4 strains that my friend and I developed in Florida during the early 2000’s. I’m talking stabilised feminised seed stock thats consistency with little deviation in phenotype and always female. It took years of work and spreadsheets but it was all worth it. I made it to the promised land I just need to fill out some forms have my small facility inspected and we’re good. Not so fast. Unfortunately for me I arrived in Denver 1 year before they changed all the laws, laws that clearly are beneficial to large corporate growers and dispensaries. People who can reach in and pull a million bux out of their pocket and not blink twice. This decision by the state to create an overly complicated system that suddenly excluded anyone with any felony record for drugs, and I’m talking simple possession. They now required that all product from seed/clone to dried product had to be tracked from seed/clone to finished product, software that could track that sort of metrics didn’t even exist. They required not only cameras but the Controllers and hard drive backup has to be in a secured room that must be inspected by the police department. Even the security room has to have a camera both inside and outside the room. Needles to say, I had to shutter my new operation 2 months after I finally got all my inspections and paperwork approved under the old system. What all this has done is hurt small owners and worse yet it’s destroying the plant it’s self. Commercial retailers/growers in Colorado are hands down the worst I’ve ever seen when it comes to strain selection. You go into the shoppes and there’s strains that you never heard of, never heard of them because they are convinced that then need to always be offering a new fresh product that no one else had. They do this by “pollen dusting”, one strain to another and coming up with a clever/ironic name. They don’t stabilise the seed stock nope just cross this with this make seeds the. Use those seeds that haven’t been stabilised to make this “new strain” worse yet they mix those together and before ya know it the genetics begins to fail not to mention do this enough and you have 30 types of product to sell that all looked taste and provides roughly the same high. Denver has gone from having couture Bougie bud growers that supplied dispensaries with premium strains that with nothing but the best nutrients harvested when the tricombe were either amber or milky and then cured for 6 months or longer for a full smooth rich taste. To what we have now, over priced commercially grown bud with questionable genetics that are usually never flushed fully, and cured poorly. Since profits are lower quality has suffered, and I fear on a long enough time line Those amazing strains war have eventually been crossed over again and again until it’s just one homogenous strain with only subtle differences but ever shoppe is going to have their own name for it. Which about sums up pot in Colorado, it’s more about the hype and image then the actual product and unique properties that it holds. Colorado image over substance

imagine making a harmless plant that kills nobody illegal.

And this is why the EU needs to work on legalising cannabis across the union.

If it's legal to smoke a joint and sell and grow just make everything about it legal, no matter the location and the quantity

Here in Netherlands we have had the perfect example in the last decades of what not to do. What they should do is: Make marihuana legal, get a permit system for growing and selling with a strict background check. Make sure to do a health check of the products (so you don't get them spraying chemicals to weigh it down) and also check that it's only sold to locals (eg. with proof they live in Spain to be shown at the door) and you prevent all the drugs tourism. Here it's really bad too; three-quarter of people in line are Belgian or German citizens. We momentarily had a check for residency here. Initially every day some dude would ask me to buy for him as he was a foreigner, but after few months this really dried up. As coffeeshops can't legally buy it here, but do need a fixed supplier to keep their business running, they have to go to organized crime. Relying on small home-growers is just too fluctuating when running a business. The solution is not to fully legalize it, but to legalize it under conditions. It'd be better for the consumer, the law enforcement and the government (taxes to cover the permit systems' cost).

ooh yuk that bud 4:28 had spider mite webs. That is just lazy growing, you always fend of mites with chemical sprays during vegetative stage or use predatory mites or lady bugs during early flowering. Dope... after 2-3 weeks flowering is a no-no to have fully forming webs. Gross

Imagine cops wasting their time dealing with a photosynthesis plant that’s been around since the beginning of time

Cannabis helped me get off Heroin and Alcohol.

4:26min Spider Mites -> RIP Crop

You had to end with a "spider mite" webbed flower. Are you trying to tell us something? lol

VICE insulting Amsterdam

4:28 the best shot to show spider mites camping on the buds😂😂 great documentary! Loved it!

It's scary how a plant, capable of alleviating pain, mental struggle, provide serenity and peace of mind, yet is criminalised worse than hard substances. I've been a daily cannabis user for many years now, from smoking to applying creams and lotions and consuming oils

Its crazy to me how any violence has ever spawned from a substance so tame in terms of negative/positive affects.

VICE always finds an opportunity to cover Weed as often as they can 😂😂

I was wondering what's Europe's Cannabis Capital, as cannabis is everywhere in the EU

The problem for me with smoking weed, is cost. because it costs so much, here in the UK it's common practise to smoke with tobacco and no filter. tobacco fucks your arteries and respiratory system, far more than just weed does. in a sense, weed could and in my opinion, should be legalised in the UK, and people can then get rid of the tobacco and i'd wager you'll see less smoking deaths because of it. having said that, I've quit both, because weed makes you lazy and I need savings.

So true.. when u walk down the streets of Barca AS SOON AS THE SUN SETS... and you call literally smell the whiff of piff... nuts.

"Tell God weed is illegal", Bob Marley.

And as always, full legalization in all of Europe would stop this in an instant.

I remember watching a documentary about a Balkan country called Albania and it is said one of the cities in Albania was the number one point of cannabis being farmed and exported in all of the EU (at that time being)

That plant @ the 4:28 mark was covered with spider mites!! There’s that many on it that they have started to web on top of the bud, and they are saying the weed is top class, lol

"120 grams, basicly nothing"😂

Vice never disappoints on its weed documentaries

4:27 homie really needs to take care of his spider mite problem and get some ipm going lmao

Gotta love the spiderweb at 4:26 on the flower... :)

I believe cannabis is a herb with some great medical benefits! As someone living with chronic pain, here in the USA they would prefer to prescribe opiates, but cannabis works almost as well without all the bad side effects! Thankfully more states are legalizing it, and I think everywhere should too!

So much enthusiasm in cracking down on someone growing a plant is just a BIG loophole in the global justice system!. They should instead go after bigger crimes such as Human Trafficking and scammers!

Them spider mites around 4:27 was horrible lol

The best part is how they said Colombus' sails were made from hemp, and then theorized he was the first to bring it to europe. lolololol

"In many other countries getting caught would incur a prison sentence" Canada has entered the chat

Just make weed legal and cripple the drug lord smh

4:27 Ey dawg, you better do something about that spider mite problem 😬

It's legal in my Country, I even made a video of buying some in a store. It kills me to see it made into such a bad thing...

I'm sure that's good weed in Spain but man those plants look skanky. Where I live in northern Calif the plants are full of big green leaves and the colas are a foot long. That's grown in natural sunlight. The plants pick up on the sun's vibes and create a superior high. I'm 70 years old so I've been smoking cannabis for about 55 years and it's hard to believe that people are still being busted for cannabis. It's legal in Calif now from all the work that we did with NORML. The whole world needs to benefit from either ingesting or smoking cannabis. It would be a much more peaceful world, no doubt.

The amount of energy wasted for the so called “war on drugs”. Just legalize it! Hi from Canada, btw.

So glad my state of Illinois legalized recreational in 2019 and medicinal use in like 2016 or something. Even federally in the US a lot of progress has been made. Very odd to see such stuff going on in the EU.

Haha that's my club CERTIFIED, shoutout to Ryan!

Legalise every drug everywhere and make it legit buissiness. Tax it, regulate it. Sell pure products and take The income away from The criminals.

spain is fucking awesome, especially catalonia region/barcelona, i really want to go the cities look so cozy and fun. also some of these weed plants have a clear spider mite problem just fyi growers

I was in barca last month and can confirm their weed is fucking amazing as a Dutch guy from Amsterdam. Not all was good, but a lot was good quality

10:55 the spider mite webbing over that flower!! 🤮

I like the dude saying he packs his stuff the best without smell doesnt even use vacuum sealed bags lmao it's just ziplock. Nice try dude but no. It's very hard to do even with vac seals

I have a dream that one day weed will be legal worldwide and that one day when I hop on an airplane I have an option of ordering edibles for my long flight

4:28, the pour soul who had to smoke this. Never seen a bud in spider webs like this :D

I wonder if the grower is from southern Spain, he has that little slang/lisp unless I'm mistaken ❤️

Keep the world green y’all, stay blazin and show love 🙏

4:27 this grow room has spider mites 🤮🤮🤮 don’t smoke his cannabis

Last plant shown on the clip was most definitely filled with spider mites

Damn, if those gangs spent more time on their pest management practices, and less time thugging people, they might make an honest profit. Those spider mites at 4:29 are out of control!

Great content Vice 👍

Like everything, the best way to end these gangs is to legalize it. Give power back to small businesses. And put the violence aside. The problems appear when you can sell it, but not grow it. When legalization is partial, or theres ilegalization, but there is demand, these kinds of situations develop.

damn that one plant at 4:27 covered in mites..... ouchy

the weed at 4.27 covered in spider mite anyways looool

Growing some mango kush right now legally god bless America

Really enjoying these documentaries Vice, thanks for stopping being political biased and just posting good stuff

And here in Canada 🇨🇦 I’m growing my own and even have my own grow tent , you even see people growing their own on their balconies here . And it’s federally legal here since 2018 .

‘Cannabis is also being grown legally in the UK for another medicine, Epidiolex. It's currently being reviewed for the treatment of two rare forms of uncontrollable epilepsy, by medicine agencies in both the US and Europe. But it's not yet available. The specially bred type of cannabis plant used to make it is grown in a glasshouse in Wissington, Norfolk, by British Sugar - which also grows virtually all of the sugar beet in the UK. British Sugar - whose managing director is Paul Kenward - has an exclusive deal with pharmaceutical company GW, which makes Epidiolex. Mr Kenward is married to drugs minister Victoria Atkins. She was accused of "hypocrisy on a grand scale" over her husband's involvement in a legal cannabis farm. She declared the interest in Parliament when she was appointed in 2017 and excused herself from speaking for the government on cannabis.’ - BBC, May 23, 2018

The other countries should also make it legal. And the blackmarket for it would nearly vanish. Allow every person to decide if they want to eat/inhale a herb, swallow pills, rat poison or whatever. They are adults and have the right to. But of course driving under the influence would still be a crime, just like with alcohol or any other drug that alters your awareness.

Spain should provide startup financing to farmers to meet domestic demand, and impose tighter regulation on associations, such as KYC and AML checks. You can “legalize” cannabis, but if the flow of legal legitimate funds and resources to this lucrative business remain illegal, or are too restrictive, then organized crime will always be the industry’s “white knight”.

A lot of people stood to loose a significant income, especially in Morocco... That show doesn't stop for nothing. In Denmark we have Christiania, a small city within the capital Copenhagen, where selling and smoking have been going on for many decades

I literally thought the title said cannibals i was like ''oh god''.

I'm from barcelona and didnt know that the statue of colombus had weed in it!! LOL

Does anyone understand that throwing a person in prison, stealing his money and his stuff all based on a weed is not rational and those who do that are the real criminals?

I love Barca. took my wife here as a surprise for the 30th bday and we had such a good time. I remember going into one of these weed places- the front was full of Eastern European looking dudes with large dogs ( and it felt a bit sketchy) and when we went into the bar it was just men and women smoking, playing fifa and having a few drinks. Out the back was the weed shop and I picked up an 8th of weed.

the bud at the end has spider mites----top shelf??

Damn they need to get those mites under control! Webs all over those flowers!

based on that title i would've definitely guessed Amsterdam

I had amazing times at the cannibis clubs in Barcelona. We also got raided by undercover cops because you're not allowed to buy alcohol past 10pm, luckily that night we didn't lol.

Am I the only one watching this high AF?

So, on the one hand, Columbus’s sails were made from hemp AND he was also “the first” to smuggle the plant back to Europe. Doesn’t add up. The Columbus trip did see tobacco going to Europe for the first time.

also in netherland is the same, a lot of mafia is over the coffeshops

3:50 - That cop's watch makes me doubt whether or not he's on the take.

“We had a group of armed gentlemen come in and inflict some physical violence...” Gasp! Not the gentlemen?!

They just need to legalize marijuana / hemp / pot. And it needs to be legalized internationally. This is just ridiculous

As someone who lives in Andalusia Spain let me say because of the really warm climate much more is grown here and distributed threw out europe

10:56 the bud in the last frame got spider mites

God bless Canada! I grow as a hobby, but the legal weed is so good and CHEAP there is no reason to go to the black market.

I am Watching this after smoking a joint. Wow enjoying. Anyone else???

4:27 that plant is infested with spider mites 😂

4:27 is that plant infested with spider mites? That bud looks covered in web lol.

I was expecting Amsterdam

Legalize it. Problem solved.

It just needs to be fully legalised but tightly regulated. What you have here is too murky a distinction. Don't have the clubs produce their own weed, create a separate industry for production which is regulated heavily. More like the Colorado model. It won't solve all the problems but a lot of the issues in this vid seem somehow (largely) avoidable.

I've been living in barcelona ll my life and as a club member I have to say it's unavoidable for clubs to buy weed to "criminal" organisations. The law states that it's legal to consume in those clubs (as a private property) but its not legal to grow (not such quantuty) it or even to carry the product in-out of the club. There is a legal vaccum that forces clubs to buy weed from other sources, if not, it would be impossible for them to cover the demand. So, why barcelona allow so many clubs that, if they had to work the legal way, wouldn't work? Take your conclusions but I think it's very clear....

Damn, I feel bad for smoking this blunt right now. *hits blunt*

this is not coming to the US lol. We're good.

The dude in the thumbnail looks like he’s smoked too much😂

why did i read the title as Europe's cannibal capital

Legal or not, grow your own. Don't let doubts or fear hold you back. This is the season to start planting outside!

I grew in a closet in 1978. Now I have a great hydro tent with LED. Since it became legal in California I've also been growing in my backyard. The neighbors actually like the smell but I keep getting ripped off.

Terrible spider mites on that bud LMAO

That's funny last take over this small dispensary here no biggie 😄

Sounds to me that Spain needs to change their laws on the punishments for people who are trafficking