The Chillin Rooms’ Exploring One Man’s Fight To Open Liverpool’s First Private Cannabis Coffeeshop.
Originally published in Weed World Magazine issue 163 (March 2023)
Photo Credit: Darren Rigby (I think)
We are currently living through a cannabis renaissance, an era of radical rediscovery and reconnection to one of humanity's oldest companion species. The past twenty years have seen the perception of cannabis alter significantly from the 'devil's lettuce' to 'god's sacred herb.’ During that time the medicinal consumption of cannabis and the multitude of potential benefits have become evermore widely accepted in mainstream society.
Currently, if you live in the UK and you qualify it is possible to obtain a private prescription to either ingest cannabis oil or vaporize cannabis flowers as an off-label medication to aid in the treatment of a variety of health conditions and diseases. It was recently estimated that 20,000 private patients have received an estimated 90,000 for-profit prescriptions that have been written since the implementation of the new legislation in November 2018.
Thousands of previously criminalised medicinal cannabis consumers now have legal protection to lawfully obtain and possess cannabis through private prescription. While I have many critiques and concerns about this private for-profit clinic system, this article isn’t about that. This article is about how this system came to be and how the actions of a few key individuals inadvertently helped lay the foundations for our current private, restrictive, and overly regulated medicinal access model.
Way back in 2001 the then UK Home Secretary David Blunkett announced the government's intention to move cannabis from being a schedule 1 Class B drug to a schedule 1 Class C drug by the following spring. This proposed change would reduce the penalties for individual cannabis-related offences of possession, possession with intent to supply, and cultivation. Earlier in the year the Home Secretary praised Scotland Yard’s decision to issue a verbal warning instead of an arrest.
These proclamations were the catalyst that is said to have inspired several bold and defiant individuals into action across the country. From Colin Davies' 'The Dutch Experience', Chris Baldwin's "The Quantum Leaf', Jimmy Ward’s Bournemouth ‘cannabis cafe’ and later Jeff Ditchfield’s ‘Beggars Belief’ and Gary Youds’ ‘The Chillin Rooms’ Dutch-style cannabis coffeeshops began popping up across England and Wales.
These coffeeshops were based on the Dutch policy of Gedoogbeleid a policy of tolerance that allows for the operation of the world-famous coffeeshops in The Netherlands. Several of the original UK coffeeshop pioneers were supported and trained by the late Dutch cannabis activist and owner of the 'Willies Wortel' coffeeshops Nol Van Schaik.
Unfortunately, all of these establishments were subsequently heavily targeted by their local constabulary and ultimately shut down despite the best efforts of all those involved in their inception, execution, and operation, well, except one.
The Chillin Rooms back in the day
On Valentine's day in 2002, the ‘Cannabis: Shaping a new agenda’ conference took place in Liverpool to discuss the implications of the Home Secretary’s recent announcement and proposed legislation changes. Amongst its 200 strong attendees was one of those said key individuals, local property developer Gary Youds. While sitting and listening to the presentations and speakers believing that ‘cannabis was going to be legal in six weeks” Gary thought to himself “right place, right time” and thus the initial idea of ‘The Chillin Rooms’ was born.
A few weeks later Gary registered ‘The Chillin Rooms’ as a limited company and gleefully applied to Liverpool council to convert a disused taxi office on Holt road in Kensington, Liverpool into the city’s first ‘private members coffeeshop’ His vision was similar to the de facto decriminalised/de-penalised ‘cannabis social clubs’ and the lawfully tolerated ‘coffeeshops’ of Spain and The Netherlands respectively.
Gary's application and subsequent appeals were denied and so began one man's two-decade-long battle to lawfully open and operate Liverpool’s first private cannabis coffeeshop. In January 2004 after several months of political debate and public pressure, the government officially reclassified cannabis-related offences from Class B to Class C. This was the ‘green light’ Gary was waiting for and so the following year in March 2005 ‘The Chillin Rooms’ officially opened its doors.
The high-end venue was well-finished and furnished with two equal rows of tables and chairs lining the length of the rectangular room. A walkway channels down the middle leading to a raised stage area adorned with a pool table at the far end. Tabletop candles and neon lights illuminate the space and invite guests to engage in conversation with other friendly patrons.
The venue proved to be rather popular with the cannabis-consuming population amassing over 400 members within six weeks of opening its doors. This popularity perturbed and provoked the local police force into acting against the ‘coffeeshop’ and subsequently ‘The Chillin Room’ was raided twice within a month in March and April 2005. After receiving a conditional discharge for the second raid Gary said that “I wasn’t expecting this kind of attention”.
In April 2006 Gary was sentenced to 12 months in prison after violating the terms of his conditional discharge order for ‘permitting the use of an illicit drug on his premises’. Following a brief hiatus ‘The Chillin Rooms’ quickly reopened and continued to operate over the next few years with little problems from the local constabulary.
After a couple of years of political debate in January 2009, the unauthorised, non-except, and unlicensed possession, cultivation, and supply of cannabis was once again reclassified back from a Class C to a Class B offence by Gordon Brown’s government.
Regardless of the legislative change ‘The Chillin Rooms’ continued to operate through this reclassification era. In June 2015 police again raided the popular underground venue resulting in Gary being sentenced to nine months in prison in January 2017. Following Gary’s release ‘The Chillin Rooms’ again reopened to the applause and approval of the local cannabis-consuming community.
‘The Chillin Rooms’ and Gary’s home were both raided in March 2019 resulting in him receiving a 12-month community order and being sentenced to complete 25 days in ‘cannabis rehab’. The popular but criminalised coffeeshop remained closed while Gary completed his sentence but reopened in the Autumn of 2021.
In October 2020 Gary was stopped by police at a local train station and found to be in possession of 40×1ml syringes containing FECO (full extract cannabis oil), 6g of cannabis resin, and a couple of pre-rolled joints. This arrest provoked a raid on his home where police discovered more syringes containing FECO, cannabis flower, and resin. It would later be revealed that Gary was producing and providing the oil for free to a terminal cancer patient in Birmingham.
Despite this detainment ‘The Chillin Rooms’ reopened in late-2021 and within weeks it was packed with guests enjoying live music, local comedians, and the products of local growers. Unfortunately, the good times didn’t last long as in February 2022 ‘The Chillin Rooms’ and Gary’s home were again targeted by police. During this latest raid police found 6 enormous plants at Gary’s home that they described as being “6ft tall and 3ft wide” and "some of the largest plants the officers had ever seen".
For two decades Gary Youds has been demonised, persecuted, and vilified for having a revolutionary vision for his community and city decades ahead of the prohibitionists that have overseen its downfall, dissolution, and destruction.
This brings us to February 2nd 2023 when Liverpudlian living legend Gary Youds was sentenced to three years in prison having earlier pleaded guilty to ‘cannabis possession’, ‘possession of cannabis with intent to supply’, and ‘production of cannabis’. While not being Gary’s first interaction with the CPS or judiciary this is the harshest sentence he has received in his two-decades-long fight to open Liverpool’s first private cannabis coffeeshop.
This latest imprisonment of Gary Youds for doing the same thing that nearly two dozen private clinics are now doing lawfully in the UK is unethical, immoral, and unjust. This current limited for-profit medicinal system is quite literally built on the bloody and violent foundations made of the suffering and sacrifices of countless individuals over several decades.
Despite threats of violence, criminalisation, and social alienation they carried on doing what they believed was right. Despite successive governments' propaganda, the gaslighting and lies of healthcare professionals, and the endless manipulation of media narratives these individuals continued to serve their community’s needs. They helped when no one would, they healed when no one could, and through the darkest days of prohibition, they led the way.
The very reason we know that cannabis can be an effective medicinal treatment for a myriad of physical and mental health conditions today is thanks to the actions of brave individuals like Gary Youds yesterday. So shouldn’t we first reward these pioneers by allowing them to lawfully do what they are going to do anyway?
If you have been moved by Gary Youds story and would like you can write to him via the emailaprisoner.com website using his prisoner number A4312DX and DOB 30/06/69.
#FreeGaryYouds
Written for Weed World Magazine By Simpa
