News Nuggets (The World)
Spanish village seeks to pay debt with cannabis
The mayor of the tiny Catalonian village of Rasquera has struck upon a novel way to lift his community out of its current debt crisis: growing cannabis.
Like many Spanish cities, Rasquera was hit hard by the European debt crisis—at last count, the village was 1.3 million Euros ($1.7 million) in the hole. In response, Mayor B
Spanish village seeks to pay debt with cannabis
The mayor of the tiny Catalonian village of Rasquera has struck upon a novel way to lift his community out of its current debt crisis: growing cannabis.
Like many Spanish cities, Rasquera was hit hard by the European debt crisis—at last count, the village was 1.3 million Euros ($1.7 million) in the hole. In response, Mayor Bernat Pallisa wants to lease a plot of village land to a group of Barcelona cannabis growers—with the “rent” coming in at about 1.3 million Euros.
Pallisa convinced the Rasquera City Council to approve the idea, which then went to residents for a village-wide vote in April. While 56 percent of the voters gave the plan a big thumbs-up, the tally fell short of the 75-percent supermajority needed to put the pot-growing scheme into action. But, according to news articles, the council is considering going ahead with the plan anyway.
Growing small quantities of cannabis is legal in Spain—growing large quantities, not so much, which is why officials with the country’s National Drug Plan have vowed to fight Pallisa’s plan.
Until the pot-for-debt-payment story drew international attention, Rasquera was previously best-known for its fine pottery.
