House rules inside a club: what to know before entering
The internal rules shared by almost every cannabis association, and why breaking them can end with the club losing its premises and the member facing a penalty.
August 11, 2026
The internal rules of an asociación cannábica (a non-profit cannabis association) tend to coincide on the essentials from one entity to another: no photographs or recording inside the premises, nothing taken out, no access with companions who are not members, and coming and going without drawing attention. They are not courtesies of the place or whims of the board, but the conditions that hold the associative model together. When they are broken, the member is exposed to an administrative penalty and the association to proceedings that can end with the premises closed.
Those rules are usually set out in the reglamento de régimen interno (the association's internal house rules), a document handed over or signed at the moment of joining, which develops what the statutes say in general terms. It is worth reading, because it is the text the association will use to assess any incident, including those that can end in expulsion. If the starting point is still unclear, it helps to first understand what a cannabis club is and how it differs from commercial premises.
This text is not legal advice or a cultivation guide
The article describes internal rules of operation and the general context in which they apply. The legal classifications summarised here depend on each specific case, on the rules in force at any given moment and on how the courts interpret them, so they do not replace the assessment of a legal professional. Nor does it address matters relating to cultivation, which fall outside this content.
Privacy: no photos, no video
This is usually the first rule stated at the door. Inside associative premises there are people whose membership of the entity is information they have not made public, and which can have consequences in their working, family or administrative life. A group photograph, a story on social media or a casual video call turn that information into public information without anyone having consented.
To third parties' privacy is added a practical reason: images of the inside of associative premises later circulate out of context, allow the people in them to be identified and can end up added to any proceedings opened against the entity. That is why many associations ask you to put your phone away on entry, and each one's house rules set out how a breach is assessed.
Photos and video
Prohibited inside the premises, including shots in which apparently nobody else appears. The instruction is usually given at the entrance itself.
Names and locations
Naming other members, tagging the premises or publishing the exact address counts as a breach of the same rule.
The entity's records
The register of members contains personal data and is subject to obligations of its own, explained in what data you are asked for and what should happen to it.
Conversations
What is said inside is not carried outside. Mutual discretion is, in practice, what holds day-to-day coexistence together.
Absolute ban on taking product out of the premises
No association can authorise what is intended for a member to leave through the door. The reason is legal and admits no nuance: the associative model rests on a closed circuit, in which supply is organised among people who already consumed and use takes place in a private setting. The moment anything reaches the street, that circuit ceases to exist and the case is analysed under the general rules, as explained in the doctrine of shared consumption.
The consequences run in two directions. For whoever leaves carrying product, possession or consumption in a public space is a serious administrative offence under public-safety legislation, with the substance seized and penalty proceedings ahead, set out in the fines for consumption or possession in public. For the association, a documented episode at the door serves as an indication that the circuit is not closed and feeds any proceedings opened against it.
What no association can provide
There is no takeaway, no home delivery and no shipping. Any premises, intermediary or advertisement proposing it is describing an activity that places the entity outside associative protection and the member in a far worse position than a simple internal breach. It is one of the promises listed in the promises that should make you distrust a club.
Non-members are not brought in
Access is reserved to people who have already completed the joining procedure. This is not a capacity rule or a way of creating exclusivity: being a socio (a member of the association) is what gives legal sense to everything else, and one outsider inside the premises turns the space into something open to the public. That is why the companion waiting in the street, the friend who is "only coming in for a minute" and the partner who has not yet applied all stay outside.
The correct route for someone to come in is to join in their own right, through the usual procedure described in how to become a member step by step and, where the association requires it, with the sponsorship of an existing member. Whoever sponsors answers to the association for the person they present, and that responsibility is precisely what is lost when someone comes in as an informal guest. Allowing companions who have not joined is, moreover, among the signs that premises are not operating as an association, listed in signs that a club is not complying.
Discretion on the way in and on the way out
The immediate surroundings of the premises are a sensitive point. Noise in the entrance hall, groups on the pavement, smell on the stairs and comings and goings at unsocial hours are the kind of nuisance that can prompt a complaint from neighbours, and a neighbours' complaint can lead to municipal action against the association. Hence the amount of detail some house rules devote to arriving and leaving.
Arriving without groups at the door
Entry is usually one at a time or in pairs, with no waiting on the pavement and no conversations in the entrance hall. Many associations have an entryphone and do not open to anyone unidentified.
No consumption outside
Not in the entrance hall, not on the landing, not in the street. Outside the premises the general rules on public spaces apply, not the entity's internal ones.
Noise and hours
Respecting the closing time and the neighbours' rest usually appears in the house rules, in particular detail in residential buildings.
Leaving in a staggered way
Leaving one at a time and not lingering at the door is a common instruction at the end of the day, above all in areas with a high density of premises.
No directing outsiders
Guiding strangers to the door reproduces the figure of the tout, alien to how an association works, and exposes the premises before the neighbourhood and before the administration.
Alcohol, minors and other substances
This section brings together three separate questions. The first is age: access is limited to adults and is checked against an identity document both on joining and on entry. The second is the ban on other controlled substances inside the premises: their presence completely changes how what happens there is classified and drags the entity into territory that no associative argument covers.
The third, alcohol, depends on each association and on the municipality's licensing regime. An association is not a hospitality business and has no reason to hold authorisation to serve alcoholic drinks, so some prohibit it outright, others allow only soft drinks and some accept that it be brought in from outside under strict conditions. The local rule prevails and is usually in writing.
These pages are not a health service
This article describes internal rules of operation, not effects or patterns of consumption. Any question about health is a matter for a health professional or for the public addiction services of each autonomous region.
Consequences of breaking the rules
A breach moves on two planes that operate at once. On the internal plane, the statutes and the house rules set a disciplinary regime with graduated sanctions, from a warning through to expulsion, with the guarantee that the member be informed of the facts and be able to be heard before the decision. That procedure and the avenues of appeal are developed in the rights and obligations of the member. On the external plane, the consequence no longer depends on the association: it is imposed by the administration or, in the most serious cases, by a court.
| Breach | For the member | For the association |
|---|---|---|
| Photographing or recording inside | Internal breach; circulating the images aggravates the case before the entity | Members publicly exposed and material usable against it |
| Taking product out of the premises | Expulsion and possible administrative penalty for possession or consumption in public | Indication that the circuit is not closed; the basis of proceedings |
| Coming in with a non-member | Internal breach; how it is classified depends on each entity's rules | The premises are treated as open to outsiders, with the risk that entails |
| Nuisance in the entrance hall or the street | Warning or temporary suspension | Neighbours' complaints, municipal proceedings and possible closure |
| Passing on or reselling to third parties | Immediate expulsion and consequences beyond the administrative | Total loss of associative protection |
One idea is worth retaining: in an associative model, one person's breach affects everyone. When an entity is raided, the members present may be identified and their details recorded in the police report, with the consequences described in what happens if a club is raided. That is why the house rules are the document to read before signing the application and to consult whenever a doubt arises: they are what fixes what is expected of a member and what can be sanctioned.
Each entity has its own house rules
The basic rules coincide, but opening hours, capacity, the alcohol regime and the disciplinary detail vary from one association to another. The directory lists associations by city with their contact details, starting from the list of cities.
Frequently asked questions
Can you take cannabis out of a club?
No. No association can authorise it, because the model rests on a closed circuit and on use within a private setting. Outside the premises the general rules apply, and possession or consumption in a public space is a serious administrative offence, as well as compromising the entity.
Can I come in with a friend who is not a member?
No. Access is limited to people who have already completed the joining procedure, with whatever process and, where applicable, sponsorship each association requires. Premises that allow companions who have not joined cease to be a closed associative space, and that is one of the signs that something is not working.
Why are photos not allowed inside?
Because it affects the privacy of identifiable third parties who have not consented to their presence there being circulated, and because images of the interior end up travelling out of context and can be used against the entity. How a breach is classified depends on each association's house rules.
What happens if I break a rule without realising?
It depends on the rule and on the house rules. Minor breaches are usually settled with a warning; those that compromise the entity — taking product out, bringing in non-members, recording and circulating images — usually carry expulsion. In any case, the member has the right to know the facts alleged against them and to be heard before the measure is adopted.
