Like the rushing of a global tide, last week the Cannabis community flooded into Barcelona and nearby Cornellà De Llobregat for one of the largest Cannabis events on earth. This marked the twentieth year of the convention known as Spannabis. Crowds packed in breaking the previous record of 35,000 attendees, and the halls seemed ready to burst at the seams with excited faces. Held just outside of Barcelona proper, Spannabis somehow manages to pack an insane amount of things to see each day before commuting back into the city. There were plenty of incredible talks, heart-pounding music, and amazing sights from the convention floor showcasing what’s new in Cannabis worldwide.

So, What Did We See?
European legends Sensi Seeds announced the continuation of their “Breeding Ground” collaborative seed drops and along with returning hitters Fat Beans and Humboldt Seed Company, announced new exclusives with Champelli, Sherbinski, and Serge Cannabis. Champelli told Leaf how the seeds for this project were sown after last year’s Spannabis when he was introduced to the Sensi crew through Smokenhagen. “It’s amazing to get to work with such an iconic brand with 40 years in the game,” he said.
For Serge, it was listening to feedback from the European community at his booth last year that led him to stop in Amsterdam and tour the Sensi Seeds Facility. This release with strains like Ghostbuzzters OG is just the tip of the iceberg. “There’s a lot of cool shit still to come from this,” he shares.


The pick-and-shovel crowd was out in full regalia as well. Tons of filter tip and grow equipment companies offered the chance to win items in exchange for punching a bag or spinning a wheel. The brand Grovebags decided to do something different and hosted a scavenger hunt throughout the grounds, with winners taking home a swag pack worth $300. The biggest prize winner of the day was undoubtedly Big Dank Energy, an American content creator who won the Focus V online contest and received a fully funded trip to Spannabis. He told Leaf how blown away he was at getting to meet and smoke with dabbers from so many different corners of the globe.
Across the convention hall, Eva Seeds had half-elves and halflings hocking packs of their Viejo Toby (GG4 x Conspiracy Kush) as well as a strain called Lost In Barcelona. At the Mills Nutrient booth, Bruno Rolls was giving sneak peeks at his new rosin-infused rolls. Talking with the European seed breeders, many said Americans were mainly looking for classic hits like Karma Genetics’ Sour D. We also heard more than a few of the competing hashmakers from the States asking about Grateful Seeds, who saw hits from their lineup winning at competitions happening all over the city, ZHead at Ego Clash.

Another Round of Z
Genetics are at the front of many conversations at Spannabis, and speaking with some of the US brands set up at the convention, we found that Europe is still clamoring for Z crosses. Scott from Wizard Treez reported that the drop of their Big Z (Zkittlez x Zangria) sold out in an afternoon. Over at the PowerzzzUp booth, Kenny Powers told us that the most popular pickups were undeniably their Z Cube crosses. Across at the Terphogz booth, Tony Mendo showed us sold-out signs for Zluntz, Zlurpee, Zquishie, and basically everything from the cupboard but the Znickerdoodles.
Another exciting part of the convention, the Spannabis Champions Cup, also saw a surprise occurrence as American brand Feeling Frosty collaborated with Weed You Social Club and CBD Scientist to enter a living-soil-grown Zkittlez, which won first place in the rosin category.


Though the end of the alphabet continued to dominate both competition winners and biggest seed demands, it wasn’t just Zkittlez that people wanted. Purple City Genetics said tons of Europeans and Americans were picking up Moroccan Peaches, and at the booth for B.C.’s Gastown Genetics, they sold out early on their entire GG4 line of crosses. We asked Bianca (AKA Lil’ Big Smoker), how they flew off the shelves before the Z stuff and she commented, “A lot of us spent the last couple years getting established and now that people have had a chance to try out the work, they’re coming back with a solid confidence in the menu.”

Don’t Say ‘Until Next Year’
Despite political pressure on the city’s social clubs and an overwhelming police presence in Barcelona during the week, there really is no way to cap the wellspring of stoners, plant advocates, growers, breeders, business-suit bongtokers, weed influencers, and brands returning to this city every year — and the crowd keeps getting bigger. As the organizers put it, in the face of a variety of hardships, “Spannabis 2024 has once more surpassed every expectation, filling the weekend in Barcelona with color and revindications.”


As the streets of the Gothic Quarter are now empty of 35,000 like-minded souls and Germany moves into the legalization limelight, keep a close watch on our Spanish comrades as Bilbao looks to host a second Spannabis this September, and Barcelona’s social clubs fight for acceptance.