CBD offers myriad benefits from pain management to epilepsy treatments, but when it comes to production, sometimes bigger isn’t better.
Cannabidiol (CBD) has exploded into the public consciousness. The second most prevalent compound found in cannabis, CBD, offers a long list of potential health benefits. Unsurprisingly, the market is exploding — 7 percent of the U.S. population is using some form of CBD.
The goods
“CBD is non-toxic and non-habit forming,” says Brittany Carbone, CEO and founder of TONIC, a wellness company producing CBD topical and oral products. “People are seeking alternatives for pain management — even NSAIDs have negative side effects. CBD is safe and effective, healing but not [addictive].”
CBD works to balance out the body’s natural regulatory processes via the endocannabinoid system, which helps manage functions like appetite, sleep, and memory. It’s been shown to be effective for localized pain, insomnia, and anxiety, with mounting evidence that it can treat more specific conditions such as certain childhood epilepsy syndromes.
“CBD oil is like a multivitamin,” Carbone says. “Even if you’re not in pain, it’s balancing your system and adapting to what the body needs.”
Local and sustainable
A major concern is sustainability. “Most hemp farming is organic — that’s mandated by the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018,” explains Carbone. “It’s the scale that people aren’t thinking about. There’s a lot of land that’s being commercialized and industrialized very quickly.”
TONIC takes sustainability very seriously at their family-run farm. “We’re really very thoughtful about how much we’re growing,” Carbone says. “You have to think about cycling through the land, because hemp cleans the soil but it will also deplete a lot of the nitrogen out of the soil.”
Small scale intent
Another reason for TONIC’s small-scale farming model is Carbone’s focus on quality. “Since we hand-cultivate instead of using a mechanical process, our products retain a higher percentage of the terpenes and cannabinoids for maximum benefit,” she notes.
As a result, TONIC’s CBD products are unique: holistic, plant-based, and hand-crafted. Their approach involves combining the CBD oil sourced from their farm with specific plant-based ingredients like ashwagandha root and black seed oil that enhance its effects. The difference this makes can be felt in products like their best-selling CHILL blend (which calms the mind and nervous system), and the O.G. blend, so-called because it was the first experimental combination Carbone created to relieve her own mental and physical stress without sacrificing mental focus, energy, and clarity.
It is easy to get caught up in the ‘green rush’ that is happening right now, but TONIC and Tricolla Farms’ craft cultivation offers a much more sustainable approach. Focusing on high quality flower and the greatest retention of the valuable cannabinoids and terpenes possible means less waste, greater efficiency, and more healing, not only for our bodies, but for our planet.
Jeff Somers, [email protected]