A new retail product offering made possible by the 2018 farm bill may actually benefit farmers during the upcoming harvest season.
The 2018 farm bill paved the way for cannabidiol products to be legally sold in Minnesota and Jen and Jesse Hendrickson of Village Green Florist and Greenhouse in Lakefield have taken advantage of the change. Village Green is now a retail outlet for CBD products.
Cannabidiol products are derived from industrial hemp, one of the oldest crops on the planet. The products are free of tetrahydrocannabinol, or, THC, the chemical responsible for much of marijuana’s physical effects.
“There is no intoxication from using it or the products made from it,” Jesse Hendrickson said of the cannabidiol products Village Green sells. “People get no high from this product. It is not marijuana.”
The Hendricksons said a lot of CBD is imported from other parts of the world, but the products they are selling in Lakefield are grown in North Carolina.
“We chose cbdMD because the products they have are 100 percent U.S.A. grown,” Jesse Hendrickson said of the company with which they are partnering. “Cannabidiol has different delivery methods. The plant is refined similar to soybean oil, so what you get is pure cannabidiol oil.”
Consumers using the product typically put the oil under their tongues — but just a drop or two from a dropper.
When the Hendricksons started hearing about the benefits of cannabidiol a year ago, they further investigated it for themselves.
“Local farmers have planted the plant,” Jesse Hendrickson said. “I understand there are 300 to 400 acres of hemp planted within a few counties from here.”
So the Hendricksons looked for an answer to the question, “What can we do to be a part of this?”
And they determined for them the easiest answer was to put the end product in their store, offering it for sale along with all their other plants, plant-related products and flowers.
It was the health benefits associated with the product that really motivated the Hendricksons to go ahead and make it available to their customers.
“Anyone can benefit from CBD,” Jen Hendrickson said. “It is not a one-symptom reliever either. It helps people sleep better, relieves anxiety, headaches, helps the digestive system, inflammation, arthritis and muscle pain and it has been shown to help diminish brain damage. Athletes commonly use it as a dietary supplement.”
“It is recommended for adults only and is not sold to children,” Jesse Hendrickson said. “It is up to parents to determine if their children will benefit from using CBD.”
Once the CBD oil is placed under the tongue, the body quickly absorbs it into the circulatory system and it then helps relieve whatever symptoms a person may be experiencing, Jen Hendrickson said.
“Farmers and others involved in physical labor, such as construction or factory workers, find it helps them sleep better at night,” Jesse Hendrickson said. “Others take it in the morning to help relieve their aching muscles as they start their day, while others take it to help reduce their stress during the day.”
“In stressful times, like the upcoming harvest season, farmers can use CBD to calm them down in those anxious times,” Jen Hendrickson added. “It not only helps them sleep better, settling their brain down better at night, but it also helps with all the aches and pains of riding in a truck, tractor or combine for long periods of time.”
The Hendricksons have limited their stock to the small 30-milliliter bottles that come with droppers as that is the typical-size CBD bottle sold. But they also offer it in a variety of flavors, such as orange, mint, berry and the original unflavored variety, which has a taste somewhat similar to soybean oil, Jesse Hendrickson said.
Beyond that, the Hendricksons at Village Green have a stock of CBD products in other forms, from cbdMD in lotion form, which is simply rubbed on the body; a topical roller in liquid form called CBD Freeze, which is especially good for sore back muscles and provides a cooling feel to the body; CBD gummies, similar to the gummy vitamins that come in a bottle and in a variety of flavors; and straight capsule form people just take with a glass of water like a person might take a regular vitamin.
“We have been using CBD oil ourselves under our tongues and have both slept well,” Jesse Hendrickson said. “I have felt like I have slept two nights in a row I feel so rested at times. We also sell CBD bath bombs in a variety of fragrances.”
And not forgetting the family pet, the Hendricksons have CBD pet treats.
“They relax a pet too,” Jen Hendrickson said. “But our customers for CBD are really anyone with chronic pain, stress or anxiety issues, are suffering from lack of sleep or have digestive issues.”