How do I join a cannabis club in Madrid?

At IBOGA it's three steps: you need a sponsor —a member who vouches for you—, you go through a short interview where we show you around, and if it's a good fit on both sides we formalise the membership contract. Message us on WhatsApp and we'll take it from there.

Can I come in without being a member?

No. It's a private club and only members can enter. To join you need a sponsor and a short interview with us first.

How much is the membership fee?

There are monthly and yearly fees. We'd rather explain the amounts and what each one includes when we talk, so get in touch and we'll walk you through it, no strings attached.

What's the minimum age?

Membership starts at 24. That's the general rule, though we do look at exceptions on a case-by-case basis. We'll ask for ID to confirm your age when you join.

Do I need to already be a cannabis consumer to join?

Yes. The regulations require members to already be habitual cannabis consumers: a cannabis club can't encourage someone to start using. If you've never consumed, we can't sign you up.

Can I come here to work or study?

Yes. Plenty of people bring a laptop and spend the afternoon in the lounge area. There's wifi, plugs and a calm atmosphere most of the day.

Do I need to book for the tournaments?

The pool and darts tournaments happen monthly and you sign up at the club itself. We announce them ahead of time so you can save your spot.

Where exactly is the club?

In the Ciudad Lineal district, on the east side of Madrid, between the Ciudad Lineal and Suances metro stops (line 5). Since it's a private association, we give you the exact address once we set up the interview.

What documents do I need to join?

An official ID that proves your identity and age: a national ID card, residence card, or passport. That's it — everything else gets sorted out in the interview.

Do I need to live in Madrid?

It's not required, but the club is meant for people who can come by fairly regularly. If you live elsewhere but spend time in Madrid, just mention it and we'll figure it out.

Access is reserved for members, so you can't bring along someone who isn't one. If you want to bring someone, they can join themselves — you'd simply act as their sponsor.

What can I get at the bar?

Beers, milkshakes and soft drinks. The bar is the club's meeting point, where everyone ends up gathering between games.

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The sponsor system in a cannabis club: what it is and why it’s required

8 September 20266 min read

The club’s bar lit in blue, with wooden stools

It’s the step that puts most people off. You’re interested in a club, you read the requirements, and there it is: a sponsor. If you don’t know anyone inside, it can feel like a wall.

Let’s go through what it actually is, why it exists, what it means for the person sponsoring, and what you can do when you don’t have anyone to ask.

What it is

A sponsor is an existing member vouching for you to the association. It’s not filling out a form or dropping a name at the door: it means someone on the inside is saying, putting their own membership on the line, that you’re a good fit and that you’ll respect the rules.

Put another way: whoever sponsors you is putting something of their own at stake. That’s why nobody sponsors lightly, and that’s why it works.

Why it’s required

There are two reasons, and both matter.

Keeping the atmosphere

A social club is held up by how well people get along. It only takes a handful of people who don’t fit for the place to change character, and for the people who’d been going for years to stop showing up.

The sponsor is the filter that prevents that. It’s not elitism: it’s that a small, calm space can’t handle unfiltered growth. A club of fifty members who know each other works far better than one of three hundred who’ve never met.

Holding up the model

As we cover in what a cannabis association is, being private is what gives these spaces legal cover. An association that anyone off the street can join stops being private in practice, no matter what the by-laws say.

The sponsor proves there’s a real connection between whoever’s coming in and whoever’s already there. It’s the difference between an association and an open venue with a different name.

Lounge area of IBOGA cannabis club in Ciudad Lineal, with sofas and warm light — The calm atmosphere members talk about doesn’t happen by itself: it’s a direct result of the entry filter.

What sponsoring someone involves

If you’re a member and someone asks you to sponsor them, it’s worth knowing what you’re taking on:

That you know that person well enough to know they’ll respect the rules.
That you’re answering for their behaviour inside the club, at least at first.
That if things go wrong, it also says something about your judgement.

It’s not a formality. It’s an act of trust in both directions.

What if the person I sponsored misbehaves?

Depends on how serious it is. Most of the time it’s talked through with both parties and sorted out. In serious cases, the association can revoke a member’s status, and whoever sponsored them will have to explain why they did.

There are no automatic penalties or anything like that, but there is an obvious consequence: if someone repeatedly sponsors badly, their judgement stops being taken into account. That’s why it’s worth only sponsoring people you genuinely know.

How it works at other Madrid clubs

Not all of them require it, and that already tells you something about the place. In Madrid there are three scenarios:

Sponsor required. Common at clubs with a stable community. Slower to get in, but the atmosphere shows it.
Sponsor recommended but not essential. Weighed case by case in the interview. This is our approach when someone arrives with no contacts.
No sponsor. You get in the same day. These usually have the highest turnover and the most problems.

As a rule, the easier it is to get into a place, the less stable it is in the medium term. Worth keeping in mind when comparing.

Entrance to IBOGA cannabis club in Ciudad Lineal, Madrid — The closed door isn’t a whim: it’s what holds up the fact that this is a private association, not something else.

How to ask for a sponsor without it being awkward

If you know someone inside but feel awkward asking, a couple of ideas:

Be direct. Explain you’re interested in the club and ask if they’d be willing to sponsor you. Beating around the bush makes it more awkward, not less.
Accept a no. They might not know you well enough yet, and that’s a legitimate answer. It’s not personal.
Ask if you can tag along first. Not to get in — that’s not allowed — but so they can tell you what it’s like before you decide.

What a sponsor isn’t

Worth stating clearly, because all sorts of things circulate:

It’s not for sale. If someone offers to “get you a sponsor” for money, walk away: it’s not a real sponsor and that club isn’t right for you either.
It’s not a contact from the internet. A name pulled from a forum doesn’t vouch for anyone.
It’s not permanent. Once you’re a member, you answer for yourself. The sponsor opens the door, it doesn’t supervise you forever.

Pool room at IBOGA cannabis association, with the club mural on the red wall — The monthly tournaments are the fastest way for someone new to stop being new.

And if I don’t know anyone

It’s the most common situation, and it’s not a dead end. Message us and we’ll talk it through: at the prior interview we get to know each other, show you around, and look at each case.

Not having a sponsor doesn’t automatically rule you out. What it does is make the interview carry more weight: instead of someone else vouching for you, you vouch for yourself. Which is why it’s worth taking your time and not rushing.

What we won’t do is let someone in the same day just because they showed up. Not out of distrust, but because that shortcut is exactly what’s closed down other clubs.

Detail of the decor on one of the club’s tables — A small club where people know each other works better than a big one where nobody’s ever met.

What happens after you’re in

A fair question: if someone’s vouched for you, are you on some kind of trial period? Are you being watched?

No. As soon as you sign the membership contract you’re a full member, on the same terms as someone who’s been there two years. There are no tiers, no grace periods, and nobody keeping track of how you behave.

The only thing that’s obviously different at first is that you don’t know anyone yet. That sorts itself out within a couple of afternoons, faster still if you join a pool or darts tournament, which is where people end up talking to each other without even trying.

Quick questions

Does the sponsorship need to be in writing?

In our case, no separate document is needed: it’s enough for the person sponsoring you to let us know. What does end up in writing is your own membership contract, when you join.

Can someone who just joined sponsor me?

We’d rather the sponsor has been around a while and knows the place. Someone who joined last week can hardly vouch for anyone yet.

How many people can one member sponsor?

There’s no fixed number, but it’s not unlimited either. If someone starts sponsoring a lot of people in a short time, we’ll talk about it: sponsorship loses its meaning if it’s handed out without any thought.

Does a sponsorship from another club count?

No. Each association answers for its own members. Belonging to another club is an interesting detail for the interview, but it doesn’t replace the sponsorship.

What if the person who sponsored me leaves?

It doesn’t affect you. Once you’re a member, your membership is yours. The sponsor opens the door, and that’s where its job ends.

In short

The sponsor looks like an obstacle, but it’s actually the guarantee of what you’re looking for. The calm atmosphere members talk about doesn’t happen by itself: it’s a direct result of not letting just anyone in.

If you’ve got someone who can sponsor you, great. If not, message us anyway and we’ll sort it out at the interview. You can check the three steps to join or take a look at what the club looks like inside before deciding.