Criminal past of Mustafa Spliff, the crime tsar’s cannabis buddy
Posing with ‘Mustafa Splif f ’ – crime tsar in cannabis storm
A CANNABIS campaigner who posed for a photo with a crime tsar in favour of decriminalising the drug can be revealed as a convicted dealer.
Durham’s Labour Police and Crime Commissioner Ron Hogg, who has stopped prosecuting small-scale cannabis growers and users, had his picture taken with Ziggy Mustafa Spliff at a symposium to discuss liberalising drugs.
The campaigner, who also uses the name John Holliday and is a founder of Teesside Cannabis Club, is in fact Michael Fisher, 30.
Under his real name, he received a 36-week suspended prison sentence from a judge at Teesside Combined Court in 2009, after pleading guilty to possession of cannabis with intent to supply. He was also fined £65 and ordered to pay £85 costs plus a £15 surcharge at Teesside Magistrates’ Court in 2011 for possession of cannabis – and admits being cautioned dozens of times.
Mr Fisher, a father of three who works as a mechanic, said: ‘ Mr Hogg should be aware of my past. It was when I was younger. I have also been cautioned 36 times for possession.
‘That nonsense six years ago ruined my job prospects.
‘Everyone knows my real name but I don’t use it in relation to my work with the cannabis club to protect my family.’ The campaigner says he has ‘ changed and grown up’, and is ‘ attempting to reach out to the police and have a relationship’.
He added: ‘Teesside Cannabis Club is about helping people, including some who have only a few months to live and need cannabis for their condition. We want the Conservatives to listen to us. As many as 85 per cent of people answering polls say it should be legalised.’
Mr Hogg, who was accused of ‘abusing his position’ by Tory MPs for relaxing the enforcement of drug laws, denied claims by Fisher that
‘I’ve changed and grown up’
he and fellow campaigners had ‘100 per cent’ influenced his policy after attending the symposium he organised in November last year.
He said: ‘These guys came along to the debate. Have they had an influence on me? Not really. My policy has been formulated over an awfully long time. I am a politician and part of a politician’s role is to seek to influence policy. Perhaps part of Parliament’s problem is that they don’t listen very much to people in the real world. There is some evidence that a harsh criminal justice approach has no impact on drug use.’
Mr Hogg added: ‘After my drugs symposium and before the election, I wrote to every party leader on the issue but only received replies from Nigel Farage (who supports decriminalisation) and Ed Miliband. I wasn’t impressed with his reply.’
Mr Hogg’s view is opposed by campaigners, who fear it could increase the number of people tempted to try drugs. David Raynes, of the National Drug Prevention Alliance, said: ‘Clearly making this sort of announcement will serve to encourage anyone so minded.’