The Barcelona Hash Marihuana & Hemp Museum — How to visit, Collection, and History

A room inside the Barcelona Hash Marihuana & Hemp Museum

In 2012, almost three decades after the opening of the Amsterdam Hash Marihuana & Hemp Museum, a second museum location opened in a former palace in Barcelona. The complete museum collection boasts over 9000 cannabis-related items, curated in both locations in a way that takes visitors on a visual journey through cannabis history.

Founded: 2012

Location: Carrer Ample, 35, 08002 Barcelona, Spain

Website: http://hashmuseum.com/en/barcelona

The original museum in Amsterdam was founded in a historic canal house, which – although beautiful – simply wasn’t big enough to house even a quarter of the museum collection. Founder Ben Dronkers dreamt of being able to open a sister museum in Barcelona. When looking for suitable premises, he obviously was searching for a building that was a piece of art in and of itself. A former palace in the Modernista style proved perfect.

A stairway with a green carpet in the building Palacio Mornau
© Enric Berenguer

The Barcelona Hash Marihuana & Hemp Museum is located in Palau Mornau. It’s a spectacular building in Barcelona’s Gothic Quarter, just a short walk to the famous Ramblas. The festive opening was combined with the 2012 Cannabis Culture Awards, and attended by award winners and special guests Richard Branson, Dr. Freek Polak, Fernanda de la Figuera and Todd McCormick.

The Barcelona Hash Marihuana & Hemp Museum is now a cultural cannabis hub in Spain’s second largest city, another one of Europe’s cannabis capitals. It receives thousands of visitors per year, and continues to educate the public about cannabis in a fun, interactive way.

A man with his arms crossed leaning against an open doorway
© Maria Dias

About the collection

The entire museum collection is the personal property of Ben Dronkers, plus a few special items which are on loan from individuals or businesses. It comprises over 9000 cannabis-related items. Among them are historical artefacts, modern cannabis accessories, and cannabis-inspired artwork.

For any cannabis enthusiast, walking into the Hash Marihuana & Hemp Museum in Barcelona is like walking into a cannabis fairy-tale. The walls are adorned with old master paintings by contemporaries of Rembrandt, depicting everyday cannabis and hemp use in the 17th century.

The numerous display cases are filled with tools and gadgets for cannabis processing and consumption. Pipes used for cannabis from all over the world are housed in the Barcelona museum, as well as modern hemp plastic and hemp clothing items from around the globe, including Japan and Russia.

A room full of images, with a fountain in the center, a table and a couple of chairs
© Xavier Moreno

Visitors can examine some of the anti-cannabis propaganda from the early 1900s, as well as hemp ropes and sails from the pre-prohibition era.

Both the Barcelona and Amsterdam museums offer audio tours of the museum in a whole range of different languages. Visitors from all over the world can enjoy a professionally guided journey through the collection. It is also possible to book group tours with a guide (see the museum website for details).

The Barcelona Hash Marihuana & Hemp Museum collection takes visitors on a visual journey through cannabis history, prohibition, and legalization. Housed in a building that is a piece of art in and of itself, and in Barcelona’s liveliest district, it’s well worth paying a visit to this unique museum.

Past exhibitions

The Hash Marihuana & Hemp Museum regularly hosts cannabis-specific temporary exhibitions. Check out some of the past exhibitions held at the Barcelona museum.

A woman taking a picture of the poster of the “Cannabis Cuisine” with her mobile phone at the exhibition
© Danh Lastra

Cannabis Cuisine at the Barcelona Hash Marihuana & Hemp Museum

In April 2017, the museum set up a fully interactive cannabis cuisine exhibition. The exhibition explored the origins of cooking with cannabis, and how this has developed into the world of modern cannabis edibles.

The Cannabis Film Cycle

The Cannabis Film Cycle exhibition has been held in the Barcelona Hash Marihuana & Hemp Museum every year since 2013. A selection of films are shown, and guest speakers, interviews, and exclusive Sensi Seeds content provide further education and entertainment. Naturally, the theme is exclusively hemp and cannabis.

A woman looking at different historical artifacts related to cannabis on display in a cabinet
© Danh Lastra

Visit and get involved

The museum is located at Carrer Ample, 35, 08002 Barcelona, Spain.

Have you visited the museum? We would love to hear your thoughts and experiences in the comments!

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    Sensi Seeds

    The Sensi Seeds Editorial team has been built throughout our more than 30 years of existence. Our writers and editors include botanists, medical and legal experts as well as renown activists the world over including Lester Grinspoon, Micha Knodt, Robert Connell Clarke, Maurice Veldman, Sebastian Maríncolo, James Burton and Seshata.
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