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CBD’S NEW FRONTIER
CBD’s New Frontier Help for Mental Health
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When Kaye Herbert’s husband brought home a free sample of cannabidiol (CBD) oil, she didn’t hesitate to give it a try. Having heard about its calming effects, she gave CBD to her three sons, whose attention deficit hyperactivity disorder made home-schooling difficult due to frequent tantrums and lack of focus. “I didn’t expect CBD to be miraculous, but I was surprised that my kids’ frustrations were greatly reduced,” says the Austin, Texas, mom. “We weren’t seeing the severity of meltdowns.”
The use of CBD in tinctures, capsules and lotions has grown exponentially, along with the science to prove its efficacy in remediating physical pain. Newer, but equally as robust, is the viability of CBD as a remedy for mental health-related issues, experts say, pointing to anxiety, depression and stress as the top three applications. by Julie Marshall
However, as an unregulated supplement, CBD presents a challenge for consumers in its ubiquity from CBD-infused pillows to gummies, soaps and even pet food. Discerning purity, dosage and safety are real concerns for those that may grab any bottle off the shelf. Consumers must become well informed, especially when replacing medications for serious disorders, experts say. But for anxiety and emotional well-being, CBD is largely heralded as a safe and natural choice by providers well-versed in CBD, such as Peter Bongiorno, past president of the New York Association of Naturopathic Physicians. “It’s really important for people to know their options and to keep looking for what works for them,” he says. The Feel-Good Molecule CBD, a compound extracted from the hemp plant, is appealing because it can raise the level of cannabinoids—feel-good It’s really important for people to know their options and to keep looking for what works for them. ~Peter Bongiorno
molecules naturally created within the human body. “When we can’t sleep or are stressed out, cannabinoid levels go way down,” Bongiorno says. While prescription drugs overwhelm the body with adverse side effects, CBD can healthfully bring back balance. But CBD won’t trigger an altered state because there is little to no tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive chemical in marijuana that produces a high, he says, adding that he starts patients at a low daily dose of 25 milligrams.
It’s important to talk with a physician about drug interac- tions, Bongiorno says. For instance, CBD can increase levels of blood-thinning medications, according to a 2017 study published in Epilepsy & Behavior Case Reports. CBD can possibly treat a wide range of conditions, from fear of public speaking to bipolar and post-traumatic stress disorders, but more research is needed, experts say. A 2018 clinical trial published in JAMA Psychiatry suggests CBD offers potential in treating psychosis. More recently, researchers in a 2019 case study of 27 patients published by the Permanente Journal concluded, “Cannabidiol may hold benefit for anxiety-related disorders.” We imagine the people suffering who need support and think about how we are growing the plants to help them. ~Lara Miller
Seeds of Hope The most important step consumers can take to find a safe, quality product is to know where their CBD comes from, experts say. Lara Miller is an organic farmer in Lafayette, Colorado, who in 2017 dedicated a parcel of her two-acre farm to growing hemp for her business, North Field Farmacy. “I added in hemp because it is a dynamic plant that produces fiber, seed and medicine for us humans, all at the same time,” she says.
Miller’s small, women-owned business grows the leafy plants outdoors in organic soil and harvests by hand. “We test in the field, post-harvest, during extraction and in the final product,” she says. “We know our product is clean and pure and potent.” This isn’t always the case. A 2017 study published in the Jour� nal of the American Medical Association showed that in 84 CBD products sold online by 31 companies, 26 percent contained less CBD than the amount listed on the label.
Miller receives weekly calls from those wanting to purchase her plants and start a CBD business. “What bothers me the most is that not one person has asked how my hemp is grown,” she says. “It all feels like a big grab; the integrity isn’t there.”
Miller continues to decline these requests and spends her days on the farm, where—come harvest time—she, alongside her crew, engages in some visualizations. “We imagine the people suffering who need support and think about how we are growing the plants to help them.”
The Rules of CBD Ask the Right Questions, Know the Product, and Buy from a Trusted Resource
by Allison Gorman
Over just a few years, cannabidiol, or CBD, went from the sidelines to center stage in the world of natural medicine. There’s a lot of info out there, and a lot of products out there too. So we asked some local experts to help us navigate this new landscape in plant-based health.
CBD Live Natural Bedford, NY Marcie Manfredonia, Founder
What’s your mission? At CBD Live Natural, we strive to bring our customers to the best all-natural products. We want them to feel their best and know that there’s a solution to change their quality of life so that they can live naturally without prescription drugs. We have both a physical and online presence, with our flagship store located in Bedford Hills, and our website, CBDLiveNatural.com.
What should people know about CBD? Although you can find CBD anywhere, we truly care about our customers’ questions and concerns and respond to inquiries the best we can. We believe it’s important to educate our customers on the products Marcie Manfredonia
that we offer so they can choose the best product to fit their needs, along with their doctor’s approval. There are no dumb questions. We encourage our customers to ask for information to help them decide on the product that’s best for them.
What CBD products do you carry? Our CBD products are 100 percent organic, vegan and GMP certified. We offer oils, gummies, pain-relief creams, vapes, capsules, edibles, bubble baths, face and
body lotion, and bath salts. In addition to our original line, CBD Live Natural, we also carry other well-known brands like Charlotte’s Web, Re-Live, Giraffe Nuts, Happy Goose Hemp, CBD Living, CBDMedic and Bimble.
What are your top sellers? Sublingual tinctures—CBD oils that are taken under the tongue, so they’re more quickly absorbed into the bloodstream. For localized pain, CBD cream is the preferred product because of how quickly it provides relief.
What’s new? Recently we launched our men’s line, which includes beard oil, skin cream and candles.
Location: 25 Depot Plaza, Bedford Hills, NY. Info: 914.218.8357, CBDLiveNatural.com. See ads, pages 35 and back cover.
CBD Source NY Mark Frieder, Owner
What’s your mission? We curate a collection of quality CBD products and supply them to local retailers. We also provide products to consumers who live too far away to patronize our retailers.
What should people know about CBD? There are a ton of CBD products on the market today, so it can be hard to decide which one’s right for you. Try to patronize local businesses—and ask questions. Ask about the hemp used in the CBD products; make sure it’s grown to be free of pesticides and heavy metals. Ask for a Certificate
Mark Frieder
of Analysis, so you can see for yourself whether it’s a clean product. If you can’t get the COA from the manufacturer, move on.
What products do you carry? We stock tinctures and topicals, some of which are derived from New York Stategrown hemp. We are very proud to sell products from Empire Hemp Co., a New York state-licensed manufacturer utilizing hemp grown in New York. We also have products from Utah and just introduced some tinctures from Hawaii.
What are your top sellers? Tinctures. They’re a very direct way to ingest hemp extracts and help the whole body. Topicals work wonderfully when there is a specific area to treat. Most people like the fact that when they use a wholebody approach, they get other benefits they weren’t expecting.
What’s new? The new buzz is CBG, a cannabinoid that’s the precursor to all the other cannabinoids in the hemp plant. I’ve heard it called the stem cell of CBD.
Info: 914.393.3518, CBDsourceNY.com. See ad, page 37.
You find peace not by rearranging the circumstances of your life, but by realizing who you are at the deepest level. ~Eckhart Tolle
CBD and Medical Marijuana M arijuana and hemp, from which most CBD products are derived, are biological “cousins.” Both medical marijuana and CBD products are legal in New York, and both are hugely popular for easing physical and psychological discomfort. Unlike CBD products, medical marijuana (which contains THC as well as CBD) requires a doctor’s prescription and must be supplied by a state-licensed dispensary. Dr. Lynn Parodneck is a statecertified medical marijuana practitioner in Westchester who works in compliance with the New York State Compassionate Care Act. She says both THC and CBD contribute to the therapeutic benefits of medical marijuana.
“CBD is one of the active components of medical marijuana,” she says. “We balance it with THC to get the desired effects for patients. THC is helpful for combatting nausea, muscle spasms, anorexia, opioid use disorder and severe pain. The combination of THC, CBD and terpenes is what gives medical marijuana its properties. We call this the entourage effect, leading to a superior result with less active ingredients.” Patients come to Parodneck for consultation, symptom management and certification to use medical marijuana. Part of her mission is teaching patients how to work with medical marijuana.
“The goal is comfort, not to get high,” she says.
Patients receiving certification must meet the New York State criteria to shop at a state-licensed dispensary. Qualifying conditions include cancer, HIV/AIDS, ALS, Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury with spasticity, epilepsy, inflammatory bowel disease, Crohn’s disease, neuropathy, Huntingdon’s disease, chronic pain and PTSD.
Office hours and house calls by appointment. Info: 914.525.6536, DrLynnParodneck.com. See ad, page 39. Rachael Hojnacki
The Pharm Stand Armonk, NY, and Ridgefield, CT Rachael Hojnacki, Wellness Consultant
What’s your mission? The Pharm Stand is a wellness boutique with two brick-and-mortar stores as well as an online store. We sell a range of CBD products, including tinctures and oils, edibles, pet products, beauty products and much more. I provide CBD education and product information to customers. When a customer comes into the store, we have a chat and go over their issues and needs, and then I direct them to the product that will hopefully help address their ailments. We provide every customer an individualized experience to get them the best relief.
What should people know about CBD? That we at The Pharm Stand have found tremendous relief using CBD products from the companies we sell here. We want to educate the communities that we serve.
What products do you carry? We carry a wide range of products in each category—full spectrum, broad spectrum and CBD isolate. Finding the best fit depends on personal preference. We have tinctures and oils, a variety of topicals, gummies, honey, chocolates, teas, coffees, sprays, pet products and beauty products. Every company provides a Certificate of Authenticity that you can check out in store or through a QR code on the product box, ensuring the quality and accuracy of the product’s ingredients. Some products are local, and they all are national, derived from organically grown hemp.
What are your top sellers? Our top-selling full-spectrum products are the Luce Farms 1500mg tincture and the Plant People Relief Balm. They both have a high milligram of CBD and are strong and potent, which is what some of our customers aim for in their products. Some of our other bestsellers are the Press Pause Muscle & Joint Cream (CBD isolate); the Joy Tinctures (broad spectrum); and Hath patches (CBD isolate). These are big sellers because they’re well priced and effective in providing anxiety and pain relief.
Anything new? Our second store, in Ridgefield, will be opening up a back room for various events and workshops, coming soon.
Location: 15 Maple Ave., Armonk, NY, and 470 Main St., Ridgefield, CT. Info: 914.219.4360, ThePharmStandCo.com. See ad, page 37.
Synergy by Shira Adler Shira Adler, CEO
What’s your mission? As the founder of one of the first New York-based holistic wellness and CBD companies (established in 2011), we’re dedicated to modern alchemy—utilizing ancient plant-based wisdom for modern challenges. My mission also includes serving the Hempire State and nationally, as a highly vetted industry pioneer, author (The ABCs of CBD: The Essential Guide), consultant, speaker, educator and CBD expert. I also serve as an elected director for the Hemp Industries Association New York chapter (nyhia.org), the industry’s oldest professional trade organization, launched in 1994 (thehia.org).
What should people know about CBD? I urge consumers to read labels carefully and then research the company. Just because it’s a bigger brand, doesn’t mean its products are better. And just because it says it has CBD in its product, doesn’t mean it actually does. If you want to learn more, read The ABCs of CBD: The Essential Guide and watch the webinar “2020 NY Hemp Law Explained (NYS Assembly Bill A8977)” on NYHIA.org.
What products do you carry? We have the only CBD-infused aromatherapy Synergy Spray series, designed to “bring balance back.” Our five Synergy Sprays—proprietary blends called Clear, Center, Nurture, Inspire and Smile—remain the foundation of our holistic regimen, which includes full-spectrum, highmilligram tinctures (1000mg, 1500mg, 3000mg); and Bliss Butter, a shea butter topical that’s infused with 10 essential oils and 500mg, full-spectrum CBD. We use only superior-quality, U.S.-grown hemp Shira Adler
with less than 0.3 percent THC, full-spectrum cannabinoids, and organic highvibrational-frequency essential oils that are meticulously crafted with exceptional purity, and third-party tested by one of the most trusted U.S. labs. What are your top sellers? Our top-selling tincture is the 1500mg. Of the Synergy Sprays, it really depends on personal preference, but my top two favorites are Clear, which has sage in it—a great soul-cleaning spray—and Smile, which uplifts and stabilizes at the same time. After the tincture, the best overall seller is our topical Bliss Butter.
Anything new? There are so many changes in the CBD world—new regulations, greater research and more brands being outed as “bad actors” in the hemp sphere—many of which will disappear due to non-federal compliance. For our company specifically, we’re in the middle of a brand refresh. Soon we’ll be redoing our websites and we recently scaled into a brand-new, also woman-run, GMP-certified, 25,000-square-foot manufacturing facility.
Info: 914.861.5186, ShiraAdler.com. See ad, page 39.
