Donated by Jenji Kohan, creator of Showtime´s Weeds, a rather large synthetic pot plant tempts passers-by to stop in at the Soma Smartshop. Photo by Kendal Montgomery.
A hydroponic garden in one window, a giant, so-very-real looking pot plant in the other and pipes hanging from yet another...there´s a new shop in town that will surely catch your eye.
Opening a doorway to education, responsibility and a more accepting public view toward the consumption of intelligent drugs, the Soma Smartshop is an idea taken from European smartshops. Granted, nowhere as liberal as its European counterparts due to constricting laws, the idea is to promote and sell "cognitive enhancers," which can help people think faster, relax and sleep more efficiently. They also focus highly on quality, meaning rolling papers without bleach, fully organic hemp clothing and beauty products, etc.
According to part-owner Claudio Venegas, they´ve been very well received in their first month. Customers of all ages have come in to check it out, including some more well-known figures here in Chile.
"Everyone has been impressed. Those who are familiar with these types of products are like, 'wow,' and then those who don´t know the first thing about them are like, 'wow,'" said Venegas.
The first of its kind in Latin America, the Soma Smartshop is a great achievement. As Venegas says, sure there are similar shops, but they tend to be in shady spots, or deep in galleries, but this is out there for all to see, in a very trafficked area; it is one-of-a-kind. The idea, in being so public, going right up to the legal limit, is to normalize and educate people on intelligent drugs, which incidentally, can be something as simple as coffee.
"This is not just something we´re doing to make money, if it was that we would sell kid´s clothing or something easier to sell; this is to broaden views," said Venegas.
The store currently sells pipes, literature, clothing, a lot of energy stimulants and gardening products. But this is just phase one. Blocked off to a little more than half of its total area, a phase two expansion is on its way, which promises "various surprises" of legal concoctions. This area will probably be similar to a café, but not just sell the coffee that you can find in all directions from their hip, Bellas Artes location, rather truly stimulating coffees, imitating more of a drug than just a warm beverage.
This alternative "boutique," as Venegas likes to see it, is a voice for a culture that is very much alive here in Chile and around the world. We wish them the best of luck.
Details:
454 José Miguel de la Barra, Santiago
Metro Bellas Artes
T: (56 2) 6390442
Hours: Monday - Saturday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sundays and holidays 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
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