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.”
