CBD products are winning fans and soothing pain

SALISBURY — The arthritis in Richard Block’s hand is not only painful; it also keeps him from enjoying his favorite musical instrument, the bass guitar. 

“I can’t practice the scales on a guitar” with a stiff forefinger, said the Lime Rock resident, motioning with his arthritic left hand. 

Block spoke from the Lakeville health food store, Four Seasons Foods, on Sunday, Jan. 6, where he came specifically to purchase a small green jar of CBD For Life Rub, a hemp-based, 100 percent vegan product that purports to soothe chronic inflammation and reduce pain.  

“I’m going to stay with that one,” he told store owner Sergio D’Ercole after sampling a liquid spray version of the product. “I’ve had the rub before, and I don’t want to run out.”

Block is among the customers who are turning to CBD, or Cannabidiol-based products derived from hemp, which has gained in popularity and is now found in everything from topical creams to supplements. 

D’Ercole said he has seen an upswing in the number of customers interested in trying CBD- based products, which are legal in 50 states. 

“I am definitely seeing more customers coming in specifically for CBD oil products,” he said, of the topical and oral variety, which start at about $30 and increase in price according to size and potency.

 As a result of increased demand, Four Seasons now carries two lines: CBD For Life, and HempCeutix produced by NaturesPlus. 

“As with all my products, I am cautious” about the manufacturer and the quality, said D’Ercole, who pulled out a product description sheet showing that all the products he carries contain between 0 and .3 percent, trace amounts, of THC, which is the mind-altering ingredient contained in marijuana-derived products. So it is impossible, he said, to get high on hemp.

With all the recent publicity over the legalization of recreational marijuana in neighboring Massachusetts, the expansion of Connecticut’s medical marijuana facilities and the growing availability of legal hemp-derived products, there is no wonder consumers are confused. 

The majority of his customers, many of whom are seniors, said D’Ercole, have no interest in using products containing THC. Rather, they are looking for natural, vegan pain management.

For those who are unfamiliar with hemp, it is an herb that comes from the same botanical family as marijuana, but is a different plant and does not contain THC. It is kind of like marijuana’s non-psychoactive cousin. 

Even though hemp has been used for thousands of years, D’Ercole said, for many it’s still shrouded in mystery and only recently has come into the spotlight.

Studies are showing that CBD can stop seizures, calm anxiety, reduce inflammation, ease depression and soothe chronic pain. The effective doses, said D’Ercole, vary widely, based on severity of symptoms and the balance or tone of an individual’s endocannabinoid system. Generally, doses start at 5 mg and may go higher depending on the effect, which varies from person to person. 

A Consumer Reports nationally representative survey from November 2018 showed that 15 percent of adult Americans had tried CBD and a majority (83 percent) said it helped, to some degree, the symptoms they were treating.

At Four Seasons, demand is outpacing supply. D’Ercole said he is currently out of the CBD oil tincture, and expected a new delivery from Kentucky on Monday. Other products in the line include a pure CBD oil spray taken orally, a CBD rub for aches and pains that comes in lemongrass, lavender or original scent, and a topical menthol camphor pain relief spray. The NaturesPlus line includes the hemp stalk oil in tablet form.

As with any natural ingredient, be it herbs, vitamins, minerals or supplements, consumers should be aware of possible side effects. According to information released by Harvard Medical School, “side effects of CBD include nausea, fatigue and irritability. CBD can increase the level in your blood of the blood thinner coumadin, and it can raise levels of certain other medications in your blood by the exact same mechanism that grapefruit juice does. A significant safety concern with CBD is that it is primarily marketed and sold as a supplement, not a medication. Currently, the FDA does not regulate the safety and purity of dietary supplements.”

But Block, who has experienced only positive effects of CBD, is optimistic about the merits of the cannabis family. 

“I do think this is just the beginning of what is going to be possible with cannabis,” he said as he headed out the door with his purchase.

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