Hemp Hits The High Street

GLEESON'S FOODSTORE of Clancy's Strand, Limerick is not renowned for its range of Class 'B' drugs but there it was - nestling between the Red Bull and the Aqua Libra - a can with a great big cannabis leaf on it.
Is the mark-up on cornflakes so bad that the previously law-abiding shopkeeper has done a Howard Marks and gone into the more exotic end of the retail trade?
Alas, no. Despite claims of it being "Magic ... Spiritual", Hemp is a totally legal fizzy drink available to anyone willing to pay the rather hefty #1.09 asking price.
The reason why Mr. Gleeson - a nice man, by all accounts - hasn't had his bottom probed by the Drug Squad is that the cannabis in Hemp is of the low-THC variety.
In other words, you can neck as many gallons of the Lilt-like potion as you want and the only buzz you'll get is from the exceedingly high doseage of caffeine which has made it a firm favourite with the Ibizan rave community.
LEBANESE WHIRLS
Although it only hit the shelves here last month, the drink has been available in Germany since October 1996 when an EU directive ended the blanket ban on hemp cultivation.
Within a matter of weeks, Designer Foods of Dusseldorf were exporting their product to Austria, Belgium, Holland, Greece, Estonia, Luxembourg, Egypt and the UK where, despite the "concern" of rent-a-quote MPs, Hemp has made it into the supermarkets.
It hasn't all been plain sailing, though, with customs officials raiding their Swiss distributors and a South African shop-owner almost charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
"The logo does awake certain emotions," acknowledge the company who, mindful of their customers getting the munchies, have recently diversified into confectionery.
"Once removed from the rough skin," goes the sales pitch, "the seeds have a very nutty aroma ideally suited to the production of hemp chocolate. Enriched with cornflakes, the 100 gram Tasty Hemp is a crisp, crunchy and delicious experience."
Designer Foods also have high hopes for Green Hemp ... Vodka, a 4% proof concoction which they're pushing as "the natural summer alternative to Sangria." Whether or not it makes it over to Ireland depends on how well its non-alcoholic counterpart fares in an already super-saturated drinks market.
Even if it goes the same way as such spectacular under-achievers as Dr. Pepper's and Liptonice, Hemp's very presence in the high street demonstrates an acceptance of cannabis culture that would have been unthinkable 10 years ago. It may be a while before you can go in and buy a packet of Mr. Kippling Lebanese Whirls - but the times certainly are a changing. n