Loophole in Spanish law makes Barcelona a marijuana haven

A faint smell of cannabis smoke hangs in the air as Susana relaxes on the sofa with her mother Juana and lights up a joint.

This is Pachamama, one of the hundreds of cannabis clubs that make Barcelona rival Amsterdam as a smoker's haven.

With shelves full of books and board games the place could be someone's sitting room, but for a hookah pipe and photographs of hemp plants such as the ones the club grows.

"This is the safest way to know what I am smoking and at the same time avoid participating in the black market," says Susana, 27, a shop assistant who sports a crop of red-dyed curly hair.

Smokers' groups say at least 700 such associations have sprung up in Spain due to a legal loophole.

Dealing in cannabis is illegal in Spain but the law does not penalise growing it for private consumption nor setting up smokers' associations.