CHAT show host Jeremy Kyle met members of an illicit cannabis club when he visited a secret ‘speakeasy’. Joanna Morris chatted to club members waiting for him to arrive

IN 2014, The Northern Echo uncovered Teesside Cannabis Club’s plans to “cover the North-East” in marijuana.

Founder John Holliday vowed to leave no stone unturned in his quest to get the class-B drug legalised and in the process, take it out of the hands of dealers and into a system based on “regulation and education”.

Since then, the club’s members have become some of the most prominent pro-cannabis activists in the UK, flouting laws they deem “unjust” at every turn as they continue their protest.

They hit the headlines recently when they opened the region’s first illicit cannabis ‘speakeasy’, a clandestine club where members gather to socialise, smoke and share information.

When approached to take part in The Kyle Files, Mr Holliday thought twice before agreeing to give Jeremy Kyle and his team access to their headquarters.

Given Mr Kyle’s well-known anti-drugs stance, he had reservations but threw open the clubhouse doors hoping to spread TTC’s message to a wider audience.

On Monday, Mr Kyle and his team met with Mr Holliday in a coffee shop before being led through fog to the club on the outskirts of Middlesbrough.

A reluctance to engage with The Northern Echo led to Mr Kyle and his bodyguard ‘Security Steve’ enjoying the comfort of their car for longer than anticipated as their production crew attempted to keep the visit under wraps.

As negotiations were on-going, activists hoping to change Mr Kyle's mind on cannabis use shared their thoughts.

Mr Holliday said: “We’re cautious but optimistic that if we can convince him of the case for legislation then that is a victory – we wanted him and his crew to spend a few hours with club members getting an understanding of what these places mean to local communities.”

Jeff Ditchfield runs Bud Buddies, a not-for-profit service providing cannabis products to the terminally ill.

He believes legalisation of the drug could help with research he currently conducts illegally.

He said: “I have hundreds a week contact me and I want to help.

"In the eyes of the law, what I’m doing is illegal but I cannot identify a victim of my crimes - I will continue doing this until doctors are able to prescribe cannabis.”

As he smoked a joint, County Durham man Trev Coleman said he believed legalising cannabis and producing it in the North-East could bring jobs and money to the region.

Mr Coleman, Mr Ditchfield and Mr Holliday were among the members who shared their thoughts with Mr Kyle once he and his team began filming.

After they left, Mr Holliday said: “Jeremy was polite both on and off camera and showed a genuine interest in what we were talking about.

“Although he wouldn’t accept that we’d changed his views fully, he agreed that his opinions had softened.”

The visit to Teesside Cannabis Club was one of a number of stop-offs made by Jeremy Kyle and his team as they look into the issue of illegal cannabis use across the UK for an upcoming episode of the Kyle Files, expected to screen in early 2018.