If you have ever wondered whether CBD oil might be beneficial, just ask Eddie. Well, you can’t ask him. He is a 1-year-old Yorkie mix. But you can ask his owner, Victoria Graham, who lives in the Hill Country and makes regular visits to her hometown of Arlington. The first time Eddie accompanied her on a trip, he became carsick. The next trip, Victoria dosed him with Cerenia, an FDA-approved anti-vomiting medication.
Eddie didn’t puke but “seemed really drugged,” she said.
Before the next trip, Graham researched natural remedies but wasn’t having much luck when a friend suggested CBD oil.
“I really did roll my eyes at first, but time was running out before the Christmas road trip, so I thought I would try it,” Graham said.
She bought a bottle from a chiropractor who said he put one drop of the oil in his small dog’s food prior to road trips to prevent carsickness. First, Graham tried a dosage on herself that night before bed and slept really well. The next day, she put a drop in Eddie’s food about an hour before embarking on the trip, and the dog stayed calm and traveled well without incident, sleeping most of the way, she said.
“I would say it just takes the edge off, which is basically what everything I’ve read says,” she said.
There is plenty to read.
CBD-based products for humans and pets are sold in an astounding array of places. People use the product to treat anxiety, insomnia, inflammation, depression, acne, or any number of other ailments – including carsickness for mutts.
At locally owned Thrive Apothecary, Dr. Lisa Gardner-Phillips and her husband Trey invest in 3rd party testing for all their products to keep high standards for their oils, serums and edibles.
“I’m a retired Fort Worth police officer, and my wife is a doctor, so we’re trying to bring some legitimacy to the CBD world,” Phillips said. “A lot of people think CBD is just something for stoners. They don’t know what it is at all, and we’re trying to change that.”
The couple recently started an online buyers club. WelCel.com features a unique formulation of full-spectrum CBD oil that leverages the benefits of ginger, peppermint, and turmeric. “The enhanced entourage effect naturally balances the needs of your body,” Dr. Lisa says. With the WelCel Champion Referral Program, customers can earn money and be rewarded for referrals.
Fort Worth resident Chris Kerr began using CBD to treat his back pain in the summer of 2018. He never realized how much the product would change his life.
“I was also using it for migraine headaches and basic general wellness,” he said. “It’s a really good antiinflammatory.” He and others appreciate the benefits of hemp without the high. Eddie, for one, is still wagging his tail.
Back then, Kerr was buying CBD online from a Colorado-based supplier. After the 2018 Farm Bill eased legal restrictions, Kerr decided to sell CBD himself and created the Fort Worth based Tiki Biosciences to provide high quality hemp supplements at affordable prices. He joined the millions of Americans selling CBD products either full-time or as a side business. For many, CBD has become the latest, trendiest side gig a la Avon or Tupperware.
“I thought it was a really good product and also a decent business opportunity,” he said.
Kerr has plenty of company. A 2019 Gallup Poll showed that one in seven Americans use CBD products. The usage is poised to increase in the years ahead since the largest percentage of use is by young people between the ages of 18 and 29.
Throughout DFW, the abundance of CBD availability has exploded. Brick and mortar retailers such as Thrive Apothecary, Behance Wellness and Bloom Hemp Market, plus online companies like Fort Worth based Craft CBD Co., add a local flare to consumers options.
