Antonio Escohotado: Pioneer of Cannabis Knowledge in Spain

Today on the Cannactiva blog we invite La Emboscadura, the monographic editorial of Antonio Escohotado, to talk about the experience with cannabis of the philosopher who challenged the precepts of anti-drug morality.

“The greatest favor that can be done to any country is to add a useful plant to its culture.”

Thomas Jefferson, Notes on Virginia

Who was Antonio Escohotado

Antonio Escohotado Espinosa was a Spanish philosopher, university professor and essayist, recognized for his work Historia General de las Drogas ( 1989). A fervent critic of prohibitionist policies, Escohotado tirelessly defended individual freedom, challenging social and legal conventions with solidly reasoned arguments and profound erudition. His life is extraordinary, from translating great authors (Newton, Hobbes, etc.), to being one of the co-founders of the Amnesia nightclub in Ibiza, to teaching philosophy, law and sociology at the university for more than 30 years.

Two years after his death, Antonio Escohotado is now a legend of contemporary Spanish thought, distinguishing himself for decades for his profound analysis of controversial issues and his tireless exploration of new perspectives on controversial issues, including marijuana.

Passion for Knowledge

Born into a bourgeois family, Antonio felt an irrepressible passion for knowledge from an early age. Escohotado defied conventions and delves into unknown terrain to explore the complexities of society, reality and the human mind. His research on cannabis, which is reflected in works such as La Cuestión del Cáñamo (The Hemp Question, which will be republished by La Emboscadura at the end of the year) and Aprendiendo Drogas (Learning about Drugs), is the result of his work. Learning from Drugs have positioned him as a central figure in the anti-prohibitionist movement, especially in Spain.

For Escohotado, cannabis was more than just a recreational plant; in the strictly personal sphere, for much of his life it was a tool for introspection and creativity. He conceived it as a catalyst for what he called “depressive lucidity”, a state of mind that allowed him to explore his thoughts and review his texts from a different perspective after long nights of intellectual work.

Beginnings and Experiences

Escota‘ s relationship with cannabis began relatively late compared to contemporary youth, a further demonstration by the master of the caution and elegance that characterized his personality, thus avoiding the potential harms associated with early marijuana use. They say that his first immersion in this world occurred in the early 70’s, when, after finishing his academic studies, he requested a leave of absence from his position as a civil servant in the Official Credit Institute (ICO) and moved to the island of Ibiza with the intention of joining the ‘Brotherhood of Eternal Love’, as he ”confessed” in an Eleusinian Meeting with Fernando Sánchez Dragó held in San Lorenzo del Escorial. This group’s main objective was to distribute LSD for free on a global scale, self-financing through the trafficking of Lebanese red hashish. Although the hippie sect had its origins in the United States and not in the vicinity of the Balearic Islands, they had a “man on the island” – as Escohotado mentioned on several occasions – to whom he dedicated the book My private Ibiza .

Amnesia Foundation and First Cultivations

The author’s path in the Pitiusa finally led him to disassociate himself from this idea, which culminated in the founding of the famous Amnesia discotheque with his great friend, Manolo Saez de Heredia, and in turn in his first steps in the cultivation of marijuana. Escohotado immersed himself in the care of the plant and managed to germinate a splendid specimen in his garden, a rarity in Spain at that time.

However, his commitment to cultivation was soon cut short by the cops, who confiscated a specimen of which Escohotado was particularly proud, which is why our protagonist was arrested for the first time in the “castle” of Dalt Vila.

Upon returning to Madrid, Escohotado continued his exploration in the study of psychoactive substances, and this time he made a pioneering foray into the hydroponic cultivation of marijuana. This method, which involves growing plants in a nutrient-rich aqueous solution instead of earthy soil, offers a number of advantages that have made it a particularly attractive option for growers today. Escohotado measured with precision – in the early 90s – the control of nutrients and promoted a paradisiacal environment of growth and flowering to his girls, being one of the first Spaniards to have a regular supply of Dutch seeds – Skunk or White Widow type – of unprecedented potency until then and that offered “buds like cobs”, according to his own words.

Later, he would move from Hoyo del Manzanares to Parquelagos, but this time it was not a police intervention that ruined the philosopher’s crop, but the action of some heartless petty thieves, a circumstance that is almost ironic: the complications associated with citizen cultivation of marijuana for the mere purpose of self-supply seem today to be aborted again and again without offering any protection by the authorities. Escohotado was again in the situation of losing his harvest and without the possibility of replication, and to his misfortune, months later he heard that his crop had been sold on the black market in the mountains of Madrid with the extra price that comes with the “Escohotado’s marijuana”.

Far from being discouraged, the Madrid-born author decided to take up the task again in the following years, but this time placing a clearly visible axe on his porch in the hope of deterring possible criminals who might prowl around his small crop in the back garden of his semi-detached house. However, to his misfortune, the visual threat did not always have the desired effect and years later, another fateful night, the intruders managed to infiltrate his home again and take over his three plants.

Escohotado reported that, upon noticing the situation, he went out into the garden uttering a series of expletives and even managed to touch the hand of one of the thieves, who escaped unharmed with the loot.

Escohotado’s unfortunate experience with marijuana cultivation meant that, after this incident, his skills as a grower never saw the light of day again, and from then on he would only use the material that readers and friends were kind enough to give him.

Antonio Escohotado’s legacy on drugs

In his well-documented trilogy History of Drugs Escohotado explains how drugs have been an integral part of diverse cultures around the globe for the connection with the divine. He mentions curious facts, such as the fact that, in ancient times, in pagan rites the hosts were wafers of bread with psychoactive ingredients, or that until well into the twentieth century, drugs strongly criminalized today, such as opium, were the philosopher’s stone of medicine. All this until the 1961 WHO International Convention, when certain substances were arbitrarily classified as “drugs”, triggering their prohibition. For example, cannabis and its resin (hashish) was classified in schedule IV drugs, at the same level as heroin. Thousands of years of history and traditional culture were destroyed in a few sheets of paper.

“Moderation is elegance. Elegance is moderation, and this word comes from choosing.”

Antonio Escohotado

In some of his interviews, Escohotado mentions that “prohibiting drugs is like wanting cars not to run by taking away the speed control“. Prohibition is not only useless in controlling drug use, but has turned consumers into guinea pigs for unregulated and therefore adulterated substances, increasing the risks of drug use. Antonio Escohotado was not in favor of the legalization of drugs, but of the repeal of prohibitionist laws, since the problem arose after their criminalization.

Antonio Escohotado Espinosa’s work and his contribution to the study and practice of cannabis in Spain is incalculable, and his legacy endures as a testament to his commitment to intellectual exploration. He always mentioned the importance of being willing to change one’s mind as an essential part of learning, rejecting the dogmatism of religions and political ideologies. His motto was“live and let live“. His legacy continues to inspire debate on personal freedom and drug policy around the world.

“From the skin inward begins my exclusive jurisdiction. I choose what may or may not cross that border. I am a sovereign state, and the boundaries of my skin are much more sacred to me than the political confines of any country”.

Anonymous contemporary

Although he became famous for his documented trilogy Historia General de las Drogas, Escohotado also wrote philosophical works of Hegelian metaphysics, such as Reality and Substance and a profound analysis of communism, embodied in the monumental trilogy of The Enemies of Commerce .

In the search for the truth about the use of this ancient plant, cannabis has innumerable real and potential benefits for society, whether as a plant for the production of numerous ecological and sustainable materials, or at a medicinal level through the various cannabinoids present in this “divine” plant, as the author from Madrid once called this versatile shrub.

Jorge Melero and Jorge Escohotado

The Ambush