Where to Purchase CBD Products
Listing of where to purchase CBD products in Louisville and the Bluegrass region.
in the garden
Health Benefits of CBD Oil
I know everyone is talking and writing about hemp and CBD oil lately, so indulge me, please. While I cannot speak to its efficacy in curing what ails you, I can share a little about what goes into growing the crop and having it processed in Kentucky. I sat down with hemp farmer Lyle Hysinger to understand the hyper-local aspect of Evercure, the hemp-derived CBD oil that I take. I met Lyle at our Simpsonville Farmers’ Market, where we are both vendors. I do not think I would have tried it if I did not know the full story of Evercure Farm and their industrial hemp crop.
Lyle, his brother Lee and two friends, Mike Bunch and Todd Harrett, all had small-business backgrounds before they set to farming industrial hemp. They are entering their third year as growers and are feeling optimistic about the potential of industrial hemp because of the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill that takes a new look at an old crop.
Under the previous Farm Bill, passed in 2014, individual states were authorized to manage pilot programs growing and regulating hemp as a floral, fiber and culinary crop. Because industrial hemp was considered a Schedule 1 controlled substance one had to be licensed under these state pilot programs to grow, handle and process hemp. The 2018 Farm Bill has removed industrial hemp from the Schedule 1 designation, which is the game changer for hemp. In essence, researching industrial hemp and its pharmaceutical and commercial potential is no longer criminal.
In order to grow hemp in Kentucky Lyle and his partners have to apply for a grower’s license, submit a $400 application fee, pass a background check and attend a mandatory orientation. When fields are planted, GPS coordinates must also be submitted so the state knows exactly where all hemp crops are located.
By definition, industrial hemp has no more than 0.3% of THC, or tetrahydrocan-nabinol, which is the psychoactive component of hemp’s cousin marijuana. Lyle explained that industrial hemp varieties, or Cannabis sativa L. (the L. designates a low-THC variety) are bred for large flower production, a bushy growth habit, low THC and high CBD, or cannabidiol. The regulations that govern the growing, handling and processing of hemp in Kentucky help to monitor these distinctions. Cloned plants are purchased from a licensed handler in the state and planted out in the spring. These cloned plants, a floral variety called CBD Rx Cherry, in this case, have the desired properties for high CBD and low THC, ideal traits for CBD oil. There are many different varieties of hemp that have been selected for a range of desirable traits that reflect how the crop is intended to be used: fiber, seed, forage or flower. Random testing of plants is done in order to identify any varieties of concern that may test THC above the legal limit.
Additionally, a sampling of the grand harvest of flowers that takes place in late summer is sent to Desert Valley Testing, in Phoenix, Arizona, for a certificate of analysis. This further verifies that the end product has the full spectrum of cannabidiol hemp extract. The report is available on Evercure’s website (EvercureCBD.com). Growing, handling and processing industrial hemp is regulated; the sale of the value-added product is not. This is precisely why the buyer needs to beware! The full spectrum of cannabidiol hemp extract has a range of different plant compounds that are referred to as the “entourage effect.” In order to maintain the integrity of this spectrum of plant compounds the plant needs to be processed in a specific way.
Lyle Hysinger and his partners have options when it comes to turning their floral crop into a quality CBD oil extract. Evercure uses what is called the cold ethanol process. The cold ethanol process captures the full spectrum of the CBD oil because the flavonoids and terpenes are not stripped from the cannabidiol during the distillation process. The combination of all of these plant compounds is attributable to the “entourage effect.” Research is still needed to identify how all of these organic compounds work together to create a therapeutic effect but what is understood is that some of the identifiable terpenes in hemp are recognized for their effects on pain (myrcene), immune systems (limonene) and mood (linalool). These terpenes are considered aromatic compounds found in plant-derived essential oils. Linalool is also found in the essential oil of lavender, which has long been used as a calming aromatic. There are also flavonoids in hemp which are recognized as anti-inflammatories.
For cold ethanol processing the cured hemp flowers are put through a grinder that results in a mixture that has the consistency of coffee grounds. This is put into something like industrial-sized tea bags and submerged into a plant-based ethanol-liquid bath that extracts the CBD oil and terpenes. This extract is captured in a flask and then set into a warm bath where the ethanol vaporizes, leaving behind the CBD oil. The CBD is distilled from the ethanol, which acts as a solvent. Evercure then mixes their CBD oil concentrate with a carrier oil (coconut oil in this case because it has no odor or taste) that allows for more precise dosing.
Botanist Mark June-Wells, PhD, explains in the July 2018 Cannabis Business Times, “ethanol is a good solvent for extracting terpenes and cannabinoids. Therefore, it can be used as an extraction solvent at room temperature or under supercooled conditions. Using ethanol at room temperature or under cooled conditions are the most common practices because these conditions allow for the retention of cannabinoid acid forms that can be leveraged to manufacture shatters, TH CA crystals or THCA-rich oral formulations.” So, it seems that the processing technique of hemp flowers for a therapeutic formulation is critical if you want the full spectrum of plant compounds in the end product.
Last year Evercure Farm planted 8,800 CBD Rx Cherry plants on about five acres in Shelby County. The plants are hand harvested and taken to a barn to hang, dry and cure for at least four weeks. Once cured, the flowers are shucked from the stalks, packed into 200-pound-capacity aerated bags and delivered to a processing facility based in Central Kentucky that specializes in value-added hemp products. There are about 30 floral processors in the state, which makes Kentucky a leader in the industrial hemp market, for now.
Now that hemp is no longer a Schedule 1 controlled substance the interest in raising the crop for food, fiber and flowers is on the rise. In fact, since the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill, applications to grow industrial hemp in Kentucky have gone up 425%. Hemp used to be a crop no one could really invest in publicly or privately for fear of legal repercussions. Now research and plant selection will grow; clinical trials will inform what therapeutic values exist; and we may even get a boost to our agricultural economy. There is even a suggestion that more young people may be drawn to farming as this old crop gets a public-relations makeover.
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Where to Purchase CBD Products
Listing of where to purchase CBD products in Louisville and the Bluegrass region.
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