Spanish town votes for growing cannabis to pay off £1.25m debt
Joel TaylorThursday 12 Apr 2012 8:55 am
The Spanish town of Rasquera has voted in favour of renting out land to grow cannabis to cut its £1.25million debt.
The mayor of Rasquera, Bernat Pellisa, says his plan to rent the town's land as a cannabis plantation will pay off their enormous debts in two years (Picture: EPA/Jaume Sellart)
The settlement's 800 adults, who live 160km (100 miles) south-west of Barcelona, voted in favour of the scheme to rent out 7ha (17 acres) of land to a cannabis consumers' association.
Mayor Bernat Pellisa – who claims the scheme will create new jobs and reduce organised crime – believes the town council can pay off the debt within two years.
Speaking before the vote on Tuesday, he said: 'It will have positive social and economic effects.
'We want to put an end to organised crime, put an end to the black market and the underground economy.'
Some 56.3 per cent of the population voted in favour of allowing cannabis to be grown in the referendum.
The mayor had previously said he would abandon the plan if he failed to secure less than 75 per cent of the vote but has since made a U-turn, saying it would be 'irresponsible' to stand down.
However, although it is not illegal to smoke cannabis in private in Spain, transporting or selling the drug is banned and lawyers are arguing over the legality of the proposals.
Police and the Catalan government are investigating.
The Barcelona Cannabis Consumers' Association, which has 5,000 members, has already paid the town £25,000 as a down payment.
It will pay another £45,000 a month to rent the land.