Fashion and edibles mean Hype for Hemp and more

By Bryce Crawford
Source: csindy.com

Fruity and radical

Since the Indy first wrote about Blackberry Maverick in April of last year, the Colorado Springs clothing label has expanded sales into Denver, been featured in Los Angeles fashion magazines, and set up an office on East Platte Avenue.

All of which takes us to the brand's upcoming Spring/Summer collection — themed around "stormy sweets," referencing "the dualities inside of us" — which you can catch at Hype for Hemp, a trunk show at 8 p.m., Friday, March 20, hosted by Studio A64 (332 E. Colorado Ave., studioa64.com). Entry is $5, with dresses from $75 to $95.

Blackberry describes its approach to design as "Tak[ing] the Retro Woman to the Edge," which includes clothing made from a hemp blend, says founder and designer Leslie Robertson via web chat. "It is an amazing fabric and we have found there is a lot of buzz around this choice," she says. "We are doing this event as a beta test, to see what the actual interest is and are planning to do our second production run utilizing all fabrics that are hemp, bamboo, recycled poly and organic cotton."

Attendees can essentially expect a rocking dress-up party, with digital and Polaroid photographers and marijuana edibles from Sarah Giron.

"We will outfit the area to be a woman's dream closet," Robertson says. "We will have rolling racks ... and steamer trunks full of accessories and shoes from our sponsor, Irregular Choice. The plan is to create an environment that will allow women to play dress up and let out [their] inner child. They will also have the opportunity to ... participate in a fashion show alongside actual models."

Sheriffs confused about law

Another marijuana lawsuit has found its way to the desk of new Colorado Attorney General Cynthia Coffman, and this time it's (mostly) homegrown. Six Colorado sheriffs, as well as counterparts in Kansas and Nebraska, are suing Gov. John Hickenlooper in U.S. District Court in an attempt to kill Amendment 64 because the plaintiffs say it conflicts with federal law.

"When these Colorado Sheriffs encounter marijuana while performing their duties ..." reads the suit, available at tiny.cc/pm38ux, "each is placed in the position of having to choose between violating his oath to uphold the U.S. Constitution and violating his oath to uphold the Colorado Constitution."

University of Denver law professor Sam Kamin tells the Denver Post that nothing requires county sheriffs to enforce federal law.

"Of the four [recent lawsuits], this is the one with the least merit," the paper quoted Kamin as saying. "They have targeted not just the [marijuana store] regulation piece but they're also essentially saying Colorado can't legalize marijuana. No one has ever gone that far."

The Gazette reports that new El Paso County Sheriff Bill Elder was not asked to join the suit.