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Britain has a police sanctioned cannabis club where celebrities go to legally smoke weed

Britain has a police sanctioned cannabis club where celebrities go to legally smoke weed

It's not exactly been kept a secret given it's been going nine years

If you head to the right spot in the UK, you'll find a cannabis club which has been operating for years and has even hosted some famous faces in that time.

Teesside Cannabis Club declare that they were established in 2014 and since then have been 'working closely with police, MPs and policymakers'.

While there's a shop in Stockton town centre which sells weed-related goodies, paying members can head into the back to a private club.

There's a police sanctioned cannabis club in the UK.
Getty Stock Image

According to the BBC, it's a 'consumption room' where members of Teesside Cannabis Club can come and smoke weed, and it's not like it's been kept a secret from the police.

Cannabis isn't legal and still maintains its Class B status, possessing it can result in you spending up to five years in prison so you might have thought that a cannabis club wouldn't be allowed to continue operating.

"The force continues to enforce the law around illegal drugs and takes such matters very seriously," Cleveland Police have said on the matter, so what's going on here?

Club owner Michael Fisher said that despite that stance from the police his interactions with the law have been 'mostly positive' and the club has managed to keep running.

Michael Fisher runs the Teesside Cannabis Club and says it's the best way to help people.
BBC

He told the BBC: "Since 2018 when medical cannabis became legal in the UK it's no longer a case of cannabis being illegal in our eyes, it's just unlicensed.

"It's an unlicensed product. It allows you to come somewhere where it's a safe space, you're not gonna be judged, there's no real criminality going on.

"There's no real judgment or stigma attached aside from the use of illicit substances which, once again, if you look around the world at other countries its been legalised, its normalised."

Fisher later told PoliticsJOE that the club was aimed mainly at users of medical cannabis and they 'know people are going to use cannabis no matter what'.

He explained that they were 'trying to remove as many harms as possible' for their club members, and they 'put people into mental health or drug rehabilitation' if they need such services.

The club has welcomed celebrities among their number.
Getty Stock Photo

The club owner said that most people going to the club were between the ages of 35 and 65, but their oldest member was an 89-year-old.

He urged police forces across Britain to look at his club as a model that can work for communities, and said he developed his club by working with the police.

Members of the Teesside Cannabis Club get a card which they can show to police to let officers know they are medical cannabis users.

There have been calls for the government to change their stance and go for legalisation of weed, arguing that it would allow people better access to help they need.

Featured Image Credit: BBC

Topics: UK News, Crime, Drugs