Larkspur family makes CBD products a home-grown business, opens Monument store – Colorado Springs Gazette

Having opened a Monument store just four months ago, the Woodward family feels they are already making a difference in the lives of people who need help with a variety of ailments.

They recognized the benefits of CBD, one of the many compounds of the hemp plant, and decided to grow and process their own family brand and product line. The family’s efforts started two years ago with the establishment of Alpine Family Farms, making use of a family member’s property in Larkspur to grow hemp for CBD products.

Since then, the Woodwards have processed, sold and shipped its family brand of CBD products online for a little more than a year, and having seen the amount of local clientele, the family decided to brand its first store, Alpinery, at 465 Highway 105 in Monument, in September.

While THC — the compound that gives pot its high — is one of the compounds in the hemp plant, CBD is another of the plant’s compounds that is not psychoactive. When hemp is processed for CBD oil, it can be manufactured to have the THC removed completely or removed to the extent that it does not exceed the legal federal limit of less than 0.3% THC.

Alpine Family Farms manufactures products that are full spectrum (meaning they contain all of the compounds found in hemp plants, including THC); however, its Alpinery store also offers products which are broad spectrum (THC has been removed).

Melissa Woodward, a member of the family ownership team, said with less than 0.3% THC, Alpine’s products cannot get a person high. “Research points to it being a lot more effective if [the oil] is the full plant,” she said.

The Woodward’s interest in growing hemp for CBD products came when Tyler and Sarah Woodward, Melissa’s brother and his wife, also part of the ownership team, saw how CBD products helped their family dog. Their dog was getting older, was facing major surgeries, and had trouble walking. Tyler said after a couple weeks of CBD treatment, the pet’s limp was gone and he behaved like a much younger dog. Because of this, Alpine Family Farms includes products for pets as well.

Having seen the cost of CBD products already on the national market, the family decided to start its own business growing hemp on co-owner and uncle Curt Reese’s property in unincorporated Douglas County, so it could manufacture, sell and ship its own products for a lower price point. The farm also gave Tyler Woodward the opportunity to put his degree in horticulture biology from Montana State University to use.

“We saw what CBD was selling for and we knew we could do it for a lot less, because we were vertically integrated,” Melissa Woodward said. “We want to be able to help people. It’s been incredible to have this business and have people come back to it consistently because of the effects they’ve experienced.”

With its product line, Alpine Family Farms aimed to help negate the natural earthy taste of CBD by infusing it with olive oil and offer it in a variety of flavors including dark chocolate, roasted garlic and Meyer lemon, among others. A chicken flavor is also available among its pet products. The Alpinery store also stocks edible CBD products such as chocolate and gummies, as well as topical creams and facial masks.

Melissa Woodward said the most common uses of the company’s CBD products thus far has been for pain management, as a sleep aid, and to reduce inflammation and anxiety. In fact, the store has multiple graphics printed and framed on its wall to help educate customers.

Educating the market about CBD has been the biggest goal for the family business. Alpine Family Farms, prior to opening Alpinery, would participate in farmers markets and wine festivals, where educating patrons about CBD and how it differs from marijuana became a priority. “That’s how a lot of local people had heard about us and learned about our product,” said Alpine Family Farms co-founder Brenda Woodward, mother to Melissa and Tyler. “So we felt it was important to create [Alpinery] for them to come to.”

Alpinery gets a lot of foot traffic from potential customers looking for education on the differences between CBD and THC, or differences between hemp and marijuana.

“Hemp has been bred to be very high in CBD and extremely low in THC. It is a selective breeding which has allowed people to do that,” Tyler Woodward said.

There is a small risk that using products that have even less than 0.3% of THC will show up on a drug screen. The family always make sure to warn its customers who undergo regular drug screening, such as military personnel, of this potential risk.

“If you are drug tested and taking full spectrum CBD, there is a chance, depending on how your body metabolizes it, you could test positive on a drug screening,” Sarah Woodward said. “So to anyone especially in the military we always ask if they have to be screened for work.”

With this in mind, it was important to the Woodwards that the store offers broad spectrum (THC free) products as well to help patrons with the same concern.

The demographic of Alpinery’s clientele is the same as the population of Monument. Although there is no federal or state age requirement for the purchase of CBD products, Brenda Woodward said the store has not seen any patron under the age of 21.

Melissa Woodward said Alpine Family Farms also offers a special program for clients with “serious chronic illnesses.” Persons who are diagnosed with such illnesses are welcome to visit the store, email or call and communicate with the ownership team to see if they qualify for special discounted pricing under the program.

For more information on the Alpine Family Farms line of products, visit alpinefamilyfarms.com. To learn more about the Alpinery Monument store, visit alpineryco.com or call 719-418-2633.

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