Be Well

A Helping Hemp

DROPS OF LIFE EXPANDS CBD’S GROWING POPULARITY IN THE COASTAL BEND

BY: MARK GREGORY LOPEZ PHOTO: PROVIDED BY DROPS OF LIFE

The touch of a plant can bring about many healing properties, but how can they be harnessed? How does someone take something from the earth and transform it into a salve, a balm or a gummy that produces a calming, lasting effect? The founders of Drops of Life CBD decided to use their respective talents and knowledge to dream up something that could be a part of a lifestyle change toward promoting their overall wellness.

“About 10 years ago, I had a nephew who was having about 30 seizures a day, and his medication was almost $2,000 a month,” said Jake Garry, co-founder and CEO of Drops of Life. His high school best friends were experimenting with medical cannabis in New Mexico that was THC-free. After revealing to Garry a study about the effects of CBD on epilepsy, they gave it a try. “About two weeks later, he stopped having seizures. He still takes CBD, and he’s seizure-free,” Garry said.

To Garry, success stories like this aren’t merely a performative measure to sell products. They’re an indication of the shifting landscape behind CBD, something that was once seen as taboo by people who viewed it as just a byproduct of marijuana. As Garry said, “CBD is derived from the hemp plant. It stimulates your endocannabinoid system, and your CB1 and CB2 receptors in your brain.”

He continued, “When you take CBD daily, it helps the natural regulations those receptors help your body carry out daily. When they’re stimulated by CBD or cannabis, they produce functions that create bliss and happiness, which is also connected to relaxing and

For tips, product recs and more informative information, check out Drops of Life’s online blog calming effects. It’s a plant medicine that can help your body carry out functions like relieving stress and anxiety.”

Drops of Life’s website displays a variety of methods for taking or ingesting CBD. It’s also broken down by purpose: CBD for focus, CBD for sleep, CBD for relief, etc., and customers can browse through gummies, tinctures, balms and other options for a product that best fits their own preferences.

“I wanted my mom and grandma to get on the website and feel comfortable with what they’re buying,” Garry said when speaking to the accessibility he aims to bring to CBD products and education in the Coastal Bend. With the quick scan of a QR code featured on its products, you can learn everything there is to know about that particular item. This information is from a certified, third-party lab, which holds the business and its products accountable. “We wanted to provide transparency and provide education. We wanted to change the mystique,” said Garry.

The company also prides itself on growing its own hemp, so much so that the CBD Drops of Life uses organic materials and top-tier cutting-edge techniques to make it. “The majority of the CBD out there is not regulated by the FDA, so a lot of us have stepped up and gone that extra distance,” Garry said.

While the business doesn’t have a physical store, everything is available for purchase on its website, and many places throughout the city carry its products. You can also find them at the ArtWalk on the first Friday of every month.

“We work a lot of community events, and the response we get is so beautiful,” Garry said. “So let Drops of Life help you live life.”

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