Several weeks ago, the residents of the Coll i Pujol neighborhood in Badalona began a collection of signatures to prevent the opening of a cannabis club at number 30 Maragall street. They consider that works are being carried out without permission and without an activity license, for which they demand that the government act with the immediate closure of the premises. For his part, Daniel Gracia, town planning councilor of the City Council, assures that he will not allow consumer activities or marijuana plantations to take place.
Neighbors have begun to collect signatures, aware that a place for cannabis consumption is not the most appropriate in a location around which “several schools and a playground where there are many creatures” are located, explains Francesc Castillo, president of the Vein Association of Coll i Pujol.
Neighborhood complaints, through petitions filed by residents, have not been able to corroborate the activity that is supposed to take place on the premises. Nor have they been able to certify the activity “the urban planning discipline technicians have tried unsuccessfully, up to three times, to have the door opened for them” as recognized by the Councilor for Urban Planning, Daniel Gracia, who details that the premises only have a minor works license which was issued last August.
The councilor assures that the municipal license for a club of these characteristics is limited to social use, for dissemination, such as workshops, talks and other activities typical of a social entity, but that in no case can it be a place for the sale and consumption of dope. In addition, in an attempt to reassure the neighbors, Gracia assures that “we will seal and close the premises if we detect drug use.” Hence, she publicly warns the elusive tenants of the premises that “we will not give them the opportunity to open if they are outside the law and that the government will respond with all available legal tools.” The person in charge of urban planning also advises that as soon as the premises open, an inspection will be carried out.
Those affected by the opening of this business demand that the City Council opt for legal action if they do not receive a response from the business owners. They also assure that in the surroundings “it is already beginning to smell of cannabis” emanating from the interior of a place that had previously generated controversy by hosting “a ghost kitchen” with Asian workers.
With the change of government in the last municipal elections, the residents have reactivated the mobilizations. They contacted the district coordinator and councilor Rosa Bertran, to whom they demand a meeting. In parallel, they state that they have submitted requests to the Guàrdia Urbana to intervene in “a business that does not have any activity license.” In this sense, they have warned that this type of establishment is proliferating uncontrollably in Badalona, ??for which they demand the rapid reaction of the executive led by Xavier Garcia Albiol.
