Hemp Boutique Makes A Dubious Political Statement

Flour Mill shoppers may find themselves on the lower level muttering: “What’s the deal with this joint?”

Not to worry. None of the cannabis-based merchandise at the new Hemp Store and More - from oven mitts to pretzels - will attract a dope-sniffing dog. There’s no drug paraphernalia here either.

“We’ve had a few kids come in and ask if they can smoke the shirts, but that would only make you sick,” says Cassandra Thommen, proprietor of Spokane’s first boutique devoted to the much-maligned wildwood weed.

“Unfortunately, none of it is smokable.”

That’s a good thing. It truly will be a sad day for America when drug-addled youths start getting buzzed off smoldering shoelaces.

Though it comes from the same basic plant as the dreaded Mary Jane, hemp is derived from stalks and seeds that contain none of the THC that gives potheads their beloved rush.

Even so, growing cannabis - whether for hemp or reefer purposes - is a crime in this country. That means Thommen must import her impressive array of items from hemp-friendly nations.

Thommen invited me to take a look at her wares. It’s hard to believe all this stuff comes from the demon weed.

There are hemp jean jackets, baseball caps, stationery, backpacks, beer can cozies, chalk bags for mountain climbers and bigger bags to carry snowboards. There’s a hemp-backed rocking chair and a hemp blend of coffee and candles and bike chain oil and twine and even a hemp veggie burger mix.

Shampoo, soap, cookies, lip balm, perfume … These products come from companies with counterculture names such as Homegrown, Hempy’s, Body Dope and Lip Buzz.

Thommen’s hempware looks durable and high in quality although a bit overpriced, probably due to import fees.

As versatile as hemp is, however, many of the gritty food products are about as tasty as wallboard. I can’t imagine the stoniest stoner getting the munchies for a sandy chocolate-chip Hemp Cookie.

But there is more to the Hemp Store and More than mere capitalism.

“I didn’t want to sell something just to make money,” says Thommen, 48, who advocates legalizing the marijuana plant. “I wanted to sell something that meant something. I think I’ve found my soapbox.”

Politics is the secret ingredient in hemp products like Hempzels, the hard hemp pretzels that come with a little marijuana leaf pictured on the label. Hempsters hype their magic herb with the fervor of George Washington Carver crusading for the peanut.

But all the save-the-planet hoopla is a smoke screen. Making hemp respectable strikes me as a calculated step to the ultimate goal: legalizing wacky tobacky.

Get a whiff of an excerpt from some literature Thommen makes available:

As the day ends, you put away your report written on hemp paper, drive home in your hemp-fueled car down hemp-lined highways to your house built, plumbed and painted with hemp clothes and fix a nice dinner of seasoned hemp tofu, turn on some music and light up a pipeful of … whatever you want.

“I think the (anti-hemp) law is completely unjust,” complains Thommen, who says she went groovin’ in the grass for the first time at age 19.

Daymien Thommen, Cassandra’s 26-year-old daughter, says she experimented with pot at about age 10 but didn’t get much out of it. There was a time when she was angry with her parents’ cannabis consumption.

She sure has changed that tune.

“I started to appreciate marijuana. To me, it’s like a treat, not something to be abused,” Daymien says. “It’s like strawberry cheesecake. You get it once in a while and savor each bite.”

Only difference is you don’t get arrested for firing up a strawberry cheesecake in the ol’ bong.

, DataTimes