'It's a private space': Outrage as Spain okays drug use in parked cars

Spain’s Interior has angered police unions by instructing the country’s security forces not to report or fine people for the consumption or possession of drugs in parked cars, as long as they are not for the purpose of trafficking.

This is because a parked car is considered “a private space” and in Spain, drug possession and consumption is decriminalised on private property.

The instruction, signed by Secretary of State for Security, Rafael Pérez Ruiz, is based on the idea that personal vehicles are objects “closely related to the privacy of their owners” and that they are protected with “a reasonable expectation of privacy.”

Parked cars, therefore, are not considered eligible for any of the administrative offences’ described in Spain’s Citizen Security law, known as the ‘Gag Law’ or Ley Mordaza in Spanish.

However, it is a different matter altogether if the vehicles are in transit, in which case it would still be a punishable offence.

The Citizen Security law, passed in 2015, is currently in the process of being reformed in the Spanish Congress. Article 36.16 defines as a serious offence - punishable by fines of between €600-€300,000, depending on the severity of the crime - “the illicit consumption or possession of toxic drugs, narcotics or psychotropic substances in places, roads, public establishments or public transport.”

The move has outraged police unions and caused unease among many Spaniards.

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Spain’s main police unions, SUP and Jupol, as well as the Guardia Civil associations Augc and Jucil, have strongly criticised the decision and demanded that it be modified or withdrawn immediately.

Police representatives believe the ruling will weaken police action, normalise drug use and endanger lives on the road.

The SUP union says it has received numerous calls from officers warning of the consequences. “It’s a real nonsense that enables consumption before driving and also sends a message of impunity to those who act outside the law,” said spokeswoman Nadia Pajarón.

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“According to this rule, anyone can consume narcotic substances inside a parked vehicle and, immediately afterwards, resume driving under its effects, remaining beyond the reach of police action until it is too late.

“As dozens of colleagues from across the country have told us: ‘After smoking two joints and doing four lines, you can go home peacefully. And if you kill someone on the way, they can ask for explanations from the Interior Ministry’," they add.

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