Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn’s son is about to open a hemp and CBD shop in London.
Tommy Corbyn and partner Chloe Kerslake-Smith will be launching the store
in Islington as well as throwing their weight behind campaigns to legalise
cannabis in the UK.
His 70-year-old father has, over his four years as Leader of the
Opposition, often voiced his support for the decriminalisation of recreational
marijuana in the UK.
Called ‘The National Hemp Service’ – a tongue-in-cheek parody of the National
Health Service (NHS) - the shop will be opening its doors in Stroud Green Road.
Speaking to the Islington Gazette, the pair said they wanted to educate
customers about the health, economic and environmental benefits of hemp, as
well as driving for reform on cannabis laws.
“We
are trying to show everyone all the things hemp can do,” explained 24-year-old
Chloe.
“Because
it’s sustainable, incredible for the earth and climate and should be
decriminalised.
“Every product we sell will be made from hemp, whether that’s hemp seed oil, CBD oil, CBD skin care, clothing made from hemp, lube, gourmet marshmallows. So far we don’t know of anyone else doing an all hemp shop.”
Wider acceptance
Meanwhile,
26-year-old Tommy said he believed a wider acceptance of hemp in the UK would eventually
allow people to break the stigma surrounding cannabis.
“We
think cannabis has been demonised for a long time and hemp can be a good
gateway into finding out more about it - we don’t want people to be afraid of
the plants.
“Most
people don’t know about hemp - it’s not a normal thing in this country
unfortunately. We are going to change that.
“We want
to help push legalisation forward - it’s the answer to a lot of our health and
sustainability issues.
“Hemp
offers a huge amount of solutions to the problems of today, in terms of
agriculture, environment, even economically, if we all start growing hemp it
would help.
“Especially in the Brexit environment when we are not going to be able to export much to the European Union, hemp is part of the solution.”
Jeremy Corbyn recently spoke out about young people receiving criminal records for being arrested over minor possession of marijuana.
“Criminalising people for possession of small amounts of cannabis is not particularly a good idea and does lead to great difficulties,” he said.
“Particularly for younger people in communities like mine, so I do think the debate is moving on.”
