Tips and Advice on Advocating for CBD

*DISCLAIMER: This is a transcript of episode 22 Advocating for CBD from our Full Spectrum Living with CBD podcast. Click here to listen to the podcast episode Advocating for CBD or click here to watch the video.

Ep22_ADVOCATING FOR CBD

Meredith [00:00:06] Welcome back to the Full Spectrum, Living with CBD. I am your co-host, Meredith, here with our host Jessica and Adriane. You guys, can you believe that this is episode 22? This is the last episode of the first season, this series, The Full Spectrum Living with CBD. So Adriane, how are you feeling about it? What did you love most about creating these podcasts over the last few months?

Adriane [00:00:32] Honestly, I’m kind of shocked that we’ve done 22 episodes. Let’s be real. It was nerve-wracking coming into this. You know, you worry. Do people want to hear what you have to say? What can I actually share with people? But we’ve gotten a great response and I think that that’s actually been my favorite part. Whether it’s interactions where customers are sending emails, whether they have questions, or just saying keep up the good work, or I really loved when you said this. That’s actually been the most fun for me, of course, besides you girls and sitting here and having a conversation, of course, my second favorite. But it’s been an interesting experience and I’m really looking forward to the next series.

Meredith [00:01:14] That’s Awesome. I know, Jessica, you guys started out with some pretty specific goals around really wanting to educate and get the word out.  I remember talking about myths and, you know, we wanted to be Mythbusters and we wanted to share information. So how are you feeling about all the content that you were able to get out there for consumers to really reflect on?

Jessica [00:01:39] I mean, in my opinion, my favorite part has been that content, because I think it’s something that in the positions we’re in, we’re constantly learning and reflecting that, hopefully, accurately as we can to our clients. And so what’s more encouraging to make sure that you’re speaking your truth than to record it and put it out there for anyone to see. So I think it’s really helped us to reflect and to continue to learn and grow. It’s just been really exciting to put out, you know, to answer some common questions, to really go into detail on things that our clients are most concerned or curious about, to push us to continue learning and growing more and the industry as well. And I think with our upcoming, our next episodes, that’s only going to continue to grow as this industry just grows rapidly. There’s so much to learn and so much to know by the time we come back with more. I mean, the stuff we’ve covered might be like really old news. It changes so quickly like there’s so much more to know in this industry.

Adriane [00:02:51] I think that’s what makes what we’ve shared so important because whether you’re new to CBD or new to hemp or the industry or whatever it is or whether you’re a longtime consumer, I think it’s all relevant because it’s all changing. The things that you’re going to learn about every day, everyone says, Oh, okay, sure, the endocannabinoid system, I’ve heard about it. Well, not too long ago, people hadn’t heard about it at all. And we’re still learning and science is still learning. So it will continue to change. So like I said, whether you’re a new consumer or a die-hard, the information that we’re sharing, that we’re going to continue to share, is going to change.

Meredith [00:03:28]  I think you guys have done a really great job of making yourselves open to the listeners out there. You know, you haven’t tied yourself to this is only for people who are working with you. Your goal is really to get great information in the hands of people so that they can make solid decisions about their health. And in that, you guys have started to get back a lot of really cool feedback. And I think you even brought a couple of questions today that maybe we haven’t answered along the way. So, Jessica, maybe you want to tell us about a question that you’ve received that you don’t feel like we’ve answered yet, that we wanted to sneak into this episode?

Jessica [00:04:04] Sure. Yeah. I think that kind of the some of the first feedback we got was a couple of people testing us on like, well, where’s your proof? Who are you to say this kind of thing online? Of course, we expected that. I expected to be much worse. So that’s been nice.

Adriane [00:04:19] That hasn’t been bad at all.

Jessica [00:04:22] I know it hasn’t been bad. People are so, you know, they’re so harsh online. But so, some of the first things that we really got back was like, well, where’s your proof? And so we really made it a point to start linking our research. And I think just to kind of answer like, what’s the proof? Who are we to be speaking to this? We are parents and family members of kids who relied on this. We started this, you know, years ago and it was because we had to. So, you know, fortunately for us, we were really moved by the results we found and we were curious about what was causing that and how we could share it with more people. I think it prompted us both to continue to learn and grow and take advantage of any kind of seminar or class or course that we could find to grow our own information, to help our family and then to help our community. And so now, of course, we’ve mentioned a bunch of times because we were so excited to do it, but we got to go to the National Canmed conference, which was a really big deal in L.A. and learn from some of the best cannabis-based physicians and researchers in the industry. That was a huge deal for us. We’re enrolled in online courses through Dr. Dustin Sulak Lac, which we’ve referred to multiple times. But his course, Healer, is fantastic for cannabis information. And we’ve attended seminars on the Cannabis Nurses Association in Kentucky, had a conference that we attended, and there was an opioid and marijuana seminar here that I got to go to. And these are things that you get continued education credits for, their accredited courses that we’re taking and of course, in the meantime, we’re fueling customer questions all the time that prompt us to do our own research and check out the latest on things along the way. So it’s just years of that accumulating.

Meredith [00:06:27] Well, I know I’ve just learned a ton from both of you coming to this and helping you to tell your story and that’s been fantastic. I think the way that you’ve always referenced information with research and also encouraging people to be empowered around that has been massive. But I also know that you really want to make sure that you’ve got that close loop for people. And if they’ve got that question and you get it answered and you help point them in the right direction, and that’s just been a really great thing to see. So, Adriane, did you have a last question from a listener that you wanted to share that maybe we hadn’t had a chance to answer yet on the show?

Adriane [00:07:08] Hers is a little more specific. Yeah, a little more specific and she was concerned. She really wanted to take a full spectrum product. She was actually concerned about a histamine reaction because of that full-spectrum product and she has histamine plated anxiety. So as histamines increase into her system, of course, then her anxiety, you know, starts to get worse at that time. So she didn’t want to take an isolate product, so she was wondering what the recommendation was. So we can go on for days when it comes to CBD and allergy relief and how it can actually mitigate and actually reduce histamine reaction within the body. But that being said, I think it even goes back to her term of full spectrum doesn’t necessarily mean whole plant. So what I mean by that is you don’t have to pull all the plant material into your extract for it to be considered full spectrum. Full spectrum again, we’ve talked about this many times, means all the cannabinoids and turbines present within the plant are in the product. You don’t need to pull the chlorophyl. We don’t need to pull any other plant material that could quite possibly, maybe exacerbate some sort of histamine or allergic reaction within the body. So I think it really goes down to the extraction method that’s being used. Alcohol extraction and lipid infusion are known for pulling plant material into the product. So it usually either requires further refinement or you may find it already just on the market as it is without further refinement. So really looking for a hydrocarbon distillation product is going to be your best bet if you’re looking for the benefits of full spectrum. Otherwise, it’s gonna be an isolate. And I’m with you again, teamwork makes the dream work. Entourage effect all the way. So hydrocarbon would be the way to go.

Jessica [00:08:53] I think like just to if you watched our previous episode, 21, on lab testing, you know, sometimes I think its something to definitely be focused on is check the lab and make sure there’s not a mold contamination issue detected on their lab results. Like that, of course, plenty of people have mold allergies. So just checking for that. I’ve gotten the question multiple times of, you know, I consumed cannabis years ago and I had went into anaphylactic shock, like, is that going to happen if I take a CBD product? Well, we have not observed that. We have not observed anyone being allergic truly to our product. The only thing we have noticed is some people are allergic to coconut-derived products and our oil being in a coconut oil base and MCT coconut oil. Of course, if you have a coconut allergy, you would have to avoid that. But otherwise, you know, we have not yet had a report of anyone having an allergic reaction to cannabinoids. I think likely. Who knows? But, you know, if you smoked it on the black market, you don’t know what was in it. You don’t know how it was handled, processed, sprayed, whatever. So I don’t think that that kind of result applies to this type of product in the form you’re taking as well. But yeah, just be aware of the mold and potential contamination issues. I think first and foremost if you’re concerned with allergies.

Meredith [00:10:22] Well, and I think in all of these episodes, again, you guys have done an amazing job of providing people with data, of providing them with resources, places to go, linking that to their website. So you’re really putting in the consumer in this place of advocacy. Where they now can look to you as a resource for information that they need in order to be able to try things that have great potential to really impact their health and their wellness. And I think, you know, we were chatting that like that’s your that’s your great hope for all of these episodes that folks are able to take the education and convert that to advocacy. So, Adriane, I’d love to hear you just talk about that a little bit more.

Adriane [00:11:07] Yeah, that really hits home for me in particular, because I’ve been advocating whether it was for my son’s health when he was first diagnosed in in pharmaceuticals he was taking and that we didn’t want him to take in, pulling him off pharmaceuticals and advocating for CBD within the state and so many different things. I think that the only way that we can move forward is to advocate stand up for yourself, stand up for what you believe in. I think that we’re actually in a time right now where people are starting to do that. Parents are definitely taking more of a stand when it comes to their physicians, with their employers, having conversations, just common sense conversations with their physicians, with their employers so that they can have the rights to take this federally legal natural product. And so it really comes down to, I’m not, I was not, a cannabis genius or a CBD genius. I’m an accountant by degree. But when you put a mom and a sick child or even, you know, parents and a sick child, we would do anything and everything and completely overturned our lives in order to be able to do this. So if I can offer through this podcast, through our website, through our social media, through conversations on the phone, any kind of that tiny bit of advocacy, instill that into a listener. To me, that’s a huge win for me. It’s a huge win. It doesn’t come easy to people to be outspoken or to advocate for themselves sometimes. And so I think anything that I can do to bring that about, I mean, it would just mean the most to me, to be honest.

Jessica [00:12:47] And  Adriane isn’t going to go here, but we were the company was born of advocacy and need. And I was kind of right there. I lived abroad for the first year or two. You know, when I got back in 2014 and hemp was legal, like it was because of Adriane and Bill, my mother in law and a bunch of parents who needed it and weren’t going to take no for an answer. And they got it done. And that is why CBD is legal for us now is purely advocacy and need. And, you know, along the way, I’m like getting emotional about it. I did to go there, but you know, the point being like we had to have this. My sister was not manageable. I can’t imagine our life without this right now. And it wouldn’t have happened if we hadn’t had said no. Like, this is an option for us. This needs to be an option. There is no reason you should deny us access to this wonderful plant-derived product that is not impairing, that is not intoxicating. We need it. And so I think even though it’s legal and things have really progressed, there’s still so much gray area and so much fear around that. Like when my physician kicked me out because some of them have kicked people out of practices for taking CBD. We have seen it firsthand, multiple times. You know, will I be denied life insurance or will my employer fire me? We have also seen that and we have had to advocate for our clients and provide them resources for them to stand up for themselves and say, I’m taking something that should be encouraged. And so essentially, with that, it’s just you’ve got to continue to fight for what you think you need and what you know you need for your loved one. It is legal, but it is still gray in too many places.

Adriane [00:14:49] And that’s not to interrupt. I’m sorry. But I think even from if you listen to Episode 21, where we had our lab on, I think that right now everybody’s just like, oh, well, you know what? My doctor says I can take CBD, but it has to have 0 THC. Or, my employer says I can’t have THC, but this CBD doesn’t have it so it’s fine. Well, I think the fact that we just kind of say okay to that and really kind of change the plant and how it’s presented naturally and even the way it’s more beneficial by removing that THC and by we I don’t mean us because we don’t do that, but a lot of companies do. I think it’s it’s intellectual dishonesty because the lab just said if the lab can’t test to that level, then there’s zero THC, but there could be THC in there. So essentially, you have people that are just saying, okay, I’m just gonna take the zero THC product instead of advocating and saying, no, I can have X amount of THC in my product legally. Let me take it. Having that conversation with your employer, having that conversation with their physician saying it’s nonintoxicating. This level means nothing. It’s important to have it in the product so that the product works the best for me. I’m actually able to be off of this pharmaceutical. My son is no longer, you know, has all these detrimental side effects due to this end to the pharmaceutical that even small steps even one person at a time going to HR. Going to that physician. We chip away at that stigma. We chip away at that wrongness of the fact that they just want to fit a certain narrative and just say, okay, we’ll have CBD products and it’ll have zero THC. It may not work and you may have to take a bunch more and you could quite possibly test positive for it. But you know what? I’ll sell it to you because it’s what you want. And I think that the more that we can get people saying, no, I want the product, that’s gonna be the most beneficial and I have to be able to educate my employer and my physician about it.

Meredith [00:16:58]  Well, I think you have done so much good for the industry, for consumers and for other people in the industry like you, who are leading with integrity and transparency and just a lot of authenticity. I mean, you guys have bared your hearts here. You have told your stories. And I know that people are just going to only want to know more of that as time goes on and as the planning for the future of full spectrum living continues. I think all three of us are just thrilled that you’ve listened to the episodes, that you’ve been a part of this. And we certainly know and trust that the information has been powerful. And, you know, hopefully, help people to make a change in their life. So for this episode of Full Spectrum, living with CBD, Adriane or Jessica, if people want to follow you a little bit more, what’s the best place for them to find you.

Adriane [00:17:56] On our website bluegrasshempoil.com. On our social media channels as well. I just want to say thank you to everybody who’s listened. Please be sure to follow the podcast because we may be off the air for a little bit, but not for long. We’re just going to regroup and reestablish if there’s something that in particular you want us to cover. Send us a message. We’ll do our best to do that. But again, thank you from the bottom of my heart. Appreciate it.

Meredith [00:18:19] Awesome. Awesome. Well, like we were saying for this episode of Full Spectrum Living with CBD, it has been our pleasure. And we look forward to seeing you all again the next time. Take care.