Chapter

feathered, and other friends deal with pain, anxiety, and other issues in an all‑natural way. The things CBD does for humans, it does for other animals. While it does not replace trips to the vet, you may find its use makes those vet appoint‑ ments far easier for your beloved friend.

Throughout this book, we will sprinkle in firsthand accounts from Cheryl and myself along with several of Cher‑ yl’s clients on how CBD has been beneficial for them. More and more, science is showing us what other cultures believed and trusted in for many of thousands of years. With this sci‑ entific proof, it is extremely difficult to try to deny how amaz‑ ing the cannabis/hemp family of plants really is.

Cheryl and I have come to CBD from two different begin‑ nings and from different backgrounds, but we have both ben‑ efitted greatly from having CBD in our lives. Cheryl was tired of poor results and awful side effects from pharmaceuticals and began looking for alternatives. She initially found CBD to help with insomnia but continued an all‑natural wellness path, immersed herself in learning everything she could on natural healing, and was completely off all prescription medi‑ cations within two years. She loved the results so much, she wanted to help others. She took her MBA and over twenty years of business experience and opened CryBaby CBD. Cheryl spent over ten years teaching, and this comes through with the way she educates her clients. (Since you may won‑ der about the name “CryBaby,” let me point out, Cheryl is a Roller Derby queen, so don’t let the name fool you!)

Her company, CryBaby CBD, is registered with the Illi‑ nois Department of Agriculture, and they obtain their high‑ quality, full‑spectrum hemp oil from a US Hemp Authority certified farm and processor. This certification ensures they are getting the best in purity, potency, and transparency. When we talk about the science of CBD in chapter 2, this certification is how you know you are getting what you are paying for and the product is safe. Farms and processors must meet stringent regulations to be certified.

While going through my cancer treatments and a sub‑ sequent life‑threatening infection, I began using cannabis daily to relieve pain. I had already learned opioids didn’t help, and I wasn’t about to start taking something again I knew would have no effect on pain but would affect my brain and my liver. I wanted to try cannabis for pain, as I’d had positive results with other natural alternative remedies, which, hon‑ estly, surprised me. I had smoked a little as a teenager but hadn’t touched cannabis in well over a decade when I decided I needed to at least give it a shot. I had friends with medical cards through our state, and they all recommended I try it. When the pain became unbearable and I could no longer sleep, I finally decided to give it a chance. When it worked immediately, I wished I hadn’t waited so long to try it. Since then, I have studied and learned as much as I can about can‑ nabis. With new information constantly available, it can be difficult to keep up with it all. For me, it was a lifesaver.

Now, I use CBD concentrates, gummies, bath salts, balms, massage oils, flower, and more along with my cannabis to help with my autoimmune disorders.

I first began using CBD as a substitute for my regular daily cannabis when I took a trip to New Orleans for Mardi Gras and was unable to legally smoke my medicine there. My first day, I picked up a bottle of 500 mg CBD and was a bit surprised by how well it helped me keep the pain at bay. We did so much walking during the week, there is no way I could have been completely pain free, but I could honestly say the CBD did help. It didn’t take away all the pain like pure cannabis did for me, but it did make it far more bearable and put the fires out in my inflamed joints. It was far better at fighting the inflammation than I had expected. It was then I decided to keep some on hand for those days when I am in a flare and need an extra boost.

Eventually, I learned adding in CBD with microdos‑ ing combined with my cannabis is usually enough to keep the pain away on a daily basis. Some days are still bad days, though, and an even stronger boost is needed. I used to feel like I lived in a constant flare. Even with all the medications I was on, my autoimmune issues were not under control. I do still have flares, but instead of feeling like I’m in one massive one all the time, it happens for a few days every few months.

Each person will have a different story, but we find many similarities between them. Those turning to CBD have often

been disappointed by other medications not working the way they are intended, or they are fed up with the absolutely awful, life‑dulling side effects.

The Western world has slowly been learning Eastern medicine does work in many situations, and the use of hemp and cannabis as a medicine is definitely an Eastern tradition. It is a far more natural approach, and you cannot get much more natural than consuming a plant.

It is difficult for me still to this day to fathom how much a plant has changed me. It has changed my physical life, making it possible for me to do things I couldn’t do for many years. CBD also gave Cheryl a new life with a new career owning her own CBD company. It’s a big change going from a large company working for others to starting your own business and overseeing everything. Cheryl’s business is growing and expanding.

I hope CBD can do for you at least a small part of what it has done for Cheryl and me, because if it does, it means it will have changed your life in some positive way. Thirty years ago, I never would have thought I would see myself get all excited over a plant. But what this plant has done for me was not only lifesaving but also life altering. My life is far better off, and I hope yours will be too.