Underground cannabis cafés continue to operate across London despite the Metropolitan Police’s efforts to close them.
Though these establishments exist across the city, a quick Google search will show many online cannabis users describing locations concentrated in the east of the city, such as in Aldgate, the City of London, and Tower Hamlets.
The Metropolitan Police shut down six locations across Tower Hamlets alone between October and December 2024, seizing almost £700,000 worth of class B substances, but one café patron explained why these venues continue to thrive.
They said: “It’s a very interesting place, a lot of different types of people mixing that you wouldn’t expect.
“People coming from work, skater kids, kids up to no good, but all in all we’re all here for the same reason.
“The mood is quite jovial.”
This café, like many others, was working out of a disused industrial property in close proximity to a residential Tower Hamlets estate.
To enter, visitors must first be buzzed in through an initial chamber, locked in by steel doors on either side and monitored by CCTV cameras.
Once approved for entry, a walk through a thick haze of smoke reveals a dingy café with technicolour murals covering its dark walls, as loud dance music blasts over the sound system.
Two men stand behind a bar with a menu of different cannabis strains and snacks available for purchase, and there is even a room with a shower for those who need it.
No official estimates exist on how many are currently in operation, and it is a difficult figure to obtain given the clandestine nature of how many of these locations operate.
Official police raids, however, have failed to eradicate the operation of cannabis cafés in the borough, with many routinely announcing venue changes on encrypted messaging platforms such as Wickr and Telegram as often as every fortnight.
There is also the danger of getting caught up in a non-police raid, as experienced at a different venue by another customer when a group of hooded men entered the establishment looking to rob the owners.
The customer said: “I was worried when I realised it wasn’t actually the police trying to get in and a bunch of random guys.
“It was heightened by the fact that nobody was allowed in or out for the next hour or so.
“The one thing about café, though, is 99% of the time you feel safe and know that everyone is there for the same reason – to get high and enjoy the vibe.”
Tower Hamlets Council were contacted for comment.
In March, a spokesperson on the council’s X account stressed they take residents’ concerns about cannabis cafés seriously, and highlighted their collaboration with police in closing one down.
In 2024, UK police and Border Force seized 85 tonnes of cannabis, a 53% increase on the previous year and the largest quantity seized since records began in 1973.
A YouGov poll in January estimated that 45% of Britons support the legalisation of cannabis.
Feature image credit: George Gardner
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