Teesside Cannabis Club

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Teesside Cannabis Club
Teesside Cannabis Club logo.png
Logo of the Teesside Cannabis Club, featuring founder Michael Fisher shown in Bob Marley style art.
Teesside Cannabis Club
Restaurant information
Established2014
Street address44 Norton Road
City Stockton-On-Tees
County County Durham
Postal/ZIP CodeTS18 2BS
Country United Kingdom
Coordinates 54°34′08″N1°18′45″W / 54.56881123990249°N 1.3125541733012562°W / 54.56881123990249; -1.3125541733012562
Website Official website

Teesside Cannabis Club is a members-only cannabis social club in Stockton-on-Tees, England. It is known locally as the Exhale Harm Reduction Centre. The club does not sell cannabis, operating with a bring-your-own policy, but does sell snacks and non-alcohol drinks and acts as a social venue for consumers of cannabis.

Contents

History

Teesside Cannabis Club was founded in 2014 by Michael Fisher, beginning as a Facebook group, and opened its current permanent location in 2017. Fisher was inspired by the prevalence of cannabis social clubs in Spain. [1] [2]

Under the policing policy the Durham Police and Crime Commissioner Ron Hogg, cannabis policing was relaxed with users only being arrested for growing plants commercially or smoking weed in a "blatant" way. [1] Fisher maintained a good relationship with Hogg, and the local Cleveland Police, and the club's focus on harm reduction enabled it to operate it with police support. [1] [3] [4] The club has also received support from other senior police figures such as Arfon Jones. [2] [5] The club donates a portion of its proceeds to local artists, and has resources to point members to local alcohol and drug support services. [3]

In 2018, the club was featured in the first episode of season four of the Jeremy Kyle documentary series The Kyle Files. [6]

In 2023, the club released a grinder in tribute of Ron Hogg, who had died in 2019. [7]

As of 2024, the club has approximately 850 members. [2]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Cedar, Ali (2017-04-26). "Inside the UK's Secret Cannabis Coffee Shops". VICE. Retrieved 2025-04-27.
  2. 1 2 3 Busby, Mattha (2024-04-24). "The Rise and Fall of UK Cannabis Social Clubs". TalkingDrugs. Retrieved 2025-04-27.
  3. 1 2 Sinclair, Sarah (2023-06-23). "Inside a UK cannabis club: changing lives, tackling stigma, building community". Cannabis Health News. Retrieved 2025-04-27.
  4. ↑ "Britain has a police sanctioned cannabis club where celebrities go to legally smoke weed". LADbible. 2023-11-17. Retrieved 2025-04-27.
  5. ↑ Parveen, Nazia (2018-08-09). "Police chief calls for more cannabis clubs where drug can be used and traded safely". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2025-04-27.
  6. ↑ Cain, James (2018-03-05). "Jeremy Kyle visits Teesside cannabis club for new TV series". Teesside Live. Retrieved 2025-04-27.
  7. ↑ "Teesside Cannabis Club pays tribute to former police boss". BBC News. 2023-03-07. Retrieved 2025-04-27.

Further reading

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