A shop in Afflecks Palace has been selling cannabis seeds as souvenirs.
Hempology Seed Bank is on the ground floor of Manchester’s quirkiest department store – Afflecks Palace.
The web page describes the shop as a stockist of hemp based foods, cosmetics, clothes and bags – with an added twist – souvenir cannabis seeds can be bought.
Hempology has disclaimers around the shop stating the illegality of growing any cannabis seeds purchased.
It is an offence to grow cannabis in the UK, under Section 6 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, without permission from the Home Office.
However, a law was passed in 2018 permitting the use of prescribed medicinal cannabis in the UK.
Hempology’s feminized souvenir seeds are sold for between £3 and £5.
The cannabis seeds can be purchased from the shop in various flavours in packs of three, five and 10.
Hempology owner Yan said the seeds are sold purely for souvenir purposes, with many tourists acquiring the seeds as a memento of their trip to Manchester.
He said: “The reason they’re legal is because at the end of the day, it’s just a hemp seed.
“If they accidentally fell on the ground, then maybe landing on soil and water, they would grow just as much as any other hemp seed would grow.”
A Freedom of Information Act (FOI) request was sent to Greater Manchester Police, detailing the number of arrests in relation to cannabis possession.
A total of 146,000 drug related arrests were made in the last three years – with an estimated 1,499 arrests in relation to cannabis occurring in 2023.
The number of arrests was 9.5% lower than in 2022 – but is still almost double the amount of cannabis related arrests in 2021.
Featured Image: Jordan Edwards
