Auntie Pam's sells CBD, sees sales increase

The newest addition to Auntie Pam’s Country Store’s roster of personal care products has customers flocking through the doors.

Store owner Pamala Sheppard said since she brought in products containing hemp cannabidiol, or CBD, she’s seen a dramatic increase in sales.

“I brought in my first order in May and it sold out,” Sheppard said. “Then I doubled it and sold out in one day. It’s been completely nuts.”

CBD is derived from cannabis but unlike tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, it does not have psychoactive properties. Instead it has been touted as having remarkable therapeutic properties for combating everything from anxiety to epilepsy. On June 25, the FDA approved the first cannabis derived prescription drug, which uses CBD to treat severe seizure disorders. In March, the Washington Post called it the “it drug” for “Generation Anxious.”

Sheppard said she did a lot of research into the production and legality of the products before adding them to her shelves.

“We’re really in the wild west with cannabis products,” she said. “Right now, the pot stores can’t carry hemp CBD and the big stores aren’t sure about it so it’s in a weird limbo.” CBD produced from industrial hemp rather than marijuana grown for recreational and medicinal use is legal in all states but trickier federally. CBD products have not been allowed into Canada but that may change with changing Canadian laws about cannabis products.

Sheppard gets her CBD products from Green Roads World. The company uses organic, US-grown industrial hemp and CO2 extraction to produce their products, and a licensed compounding pharmacist oversees the formulation.

She said she takes half a 25mg gummy frog every day herself and “it reduces my stress by 90 percent, I’m pain-free and extremely clear-headed.” The store carries CBD oils, edible products and topical preparations.