The Cannabis Lifestyle
The Perfect Prescription for a
Family
By Dianne Armitage
Business
A passion for healthy options led sisters Shannon Ashamalla and Stephanie Sullivan, to join forces with their dad, Paul Sullivan, to formulate Theracream® a line of CBD products designed to provide topical relief for everything from headaches and sports injuries to arthritis, sciatica, and psoriasis.
Many things make this family team and its products unique, which translates to topical creams meeting not only the highest quality standards but helps to ensure they produce the relief the consumer is seeking. Paul’s training as a compound pharmacist goes well beyond that of a community or hospital pharmacist since it includes specialization in the actual formulation and compounding or production of pharmaceuticals. Compounded prescriptions are often preferred when a onesize-fits-all is not delivering the maximum successful patient response. Paul is skilled at choosing or developing specific dosage formulas that are most effective for the patient. In addition to capsules or creams and lotions, he is well versed in creating tablets, oral thin film strips, suppositories, aerosols, tinctures, oils, patches, powders, liquids, or sprays. Added to this is his training in veterinary pharmacology, hospital pharmacy, dental products, sports nutrition, cannabis and hemp extract therapy, as well as homeopathy. But it doesn’t end there. His experience in skincare (he was Vice 14 Cannabis by the Sea
Spring 2022
Lompoc Mayor, Jenelle Osborne
President of Product Development for Murad Skin Research) adds yet another layer to the efficacy of TheraCream products, as well as scientific and medical sophistication. The trio’s commitment to quality control from seed to final product is just one more part of their “magic” potion. “Quality control is critical in any business, and being able to have control and details about the chain-of-custody of any raw material from the field (seed) to the production (final packaging) can increase your chances of maximizing the quality of the final product,” Shannon explains. “This includes knowing the seed quality and purity, where they are grown, what is used in the way of fertilizers and pesticides, how it is harvested, where it is extracted, and by what means. It also involves knowing what solvents are used (if any) in the extraction and their safety profile. It’s also important to know what the active ingredient level is of the final product, and IF there are any solvent residues (this is determined by a thirdparty analysis) in the raw material.” “Another part of the equation is where it is to be manufactured and what controls are in place in that facility, as well as what packaging is selected for protection from light, humidity, temperature, etc. This information is all part of our process.” All small businesses face challenges, and this is particularly true when it comes to the cannabis/marijuana industry. Shannon points out that credit card processors will frequently not take online CBD businesses without adding costly “high
