The claim has been made by local shopkeepers in the Catalan capital’s old city who have noted an unusual proliferation of such shops, particularly in the tourist hotspot Ciutat Vella.

Despite the significant increase in new ‘florists’, the number of actual flower-selling shops in the city has remained stable.

This disparity has raised suspicions among the shopkeepers and the public.

Barna Centre, the city’s shopkeepers’ association, has alleged that the outlets sell sweets and products containing illegal concentrations of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive ingredient in cannabis.

The association is advocating for a specific licensing system for these ‘weed shops’ to prevent them from operating under the guise of florists.

Simultaneously, the city is cracking down on its 200 cannabis clubs, known as asociaciónes, which are suspected of selling cannabis to tourists in violation of a 2017 law.