Questions and Answers with Owner of Northeast Missouri CBD Store
By Echo Menges
A lot of people are curious about CBD products, which have popped up on shelves at gas stations, grocery stores and pharmacies nationwide. We conducted this question and answer interview with the owner of a Northeast Missouri CBD store named Origins, which is located in Kirksville, MO, to better understand and to help our readers understand what these products are and to develop an understanding about what they are used for.
CBD stands for cannabidiol and it is derived from the hemp/marijuana plant.
Q&A with Tanya Bane, owner of Origins CBD store in Kirksville, MO
Q: When did you open your CBD store in NEMO?
A: We officially opened on July 1st, 2019
Q: Why did you open the store?
A: I wanted to open this store after seeing the effects that CBD and hemp had on my husband. He is disabled due to his spine being fused and having a pacemaker to control his heart rate. He also has a condition called Neurocardiogenic syncope which causes him to drop at random. For years he was taking prescription pain medications and pairing that with alcohol to try to kill his chronic pain. That didn’t make him a very friendly, happy person. He was depressed and sometimes could barely walk. This would cause his heart issue to act up and put him down for an entire day. A change in heart rhythm is no good for him, so his means of dealing with his pain was not helping his heart issue at all. Austin started checking into CBD drops, then CBD vape oil, and ordered some online.
He had some luck with it, but wanted something better because, of course, you can’t always count on what you buy online. He came across a great guy from New York who had some very effective CBD cigarettes, the Vance Global hemp cigarettes we now carry in our store, but Austin kept researching and exploring. He wanted to stop at every vape store, every CBD store, order stuff online that his friends had tried and swore by, and we were forming a small pharmacy in a cabinet in our bedroom, because I still wasn’t sure of the legality of these products.
Then, we went on vacation in April of this year. On the way back home, we went through Tullahoma, Tennessee, and stopped at a house with a CBD flag in the front yard and an OPEN sign in the window. When we stepped inside, I smelled marijuana, or so I thought. There was a nice lady at the counter, and what looked like marijuana in jars in her display cabinets.
I sort of panicked for a moment, wondering if we should even be in there. If I got “busted” I’d have lost my job with the State of Missouri at the time. We talked with Donna, the owner, and she told us she was selling CBD oils, hemp, and other CBD products. She took the time to tell us about some of the strains of hemp she carried, how CBD works, and that hemp and hemp-derived CBD had been made legal with the passing of the 2014 Farm Bill. (This Bill was re-upped in 2018.)
As Austin picked out what he wanted to try, I wondered why aren’t they selling this in Missouri? A person could order this stuff online while hiding in a dark bedroom like they’re stealing someone’s identity, but why weren’t there any little stores selling hemp anywhere? It was legal, so there really needed to be a shop like Donna’s where we lived. After we got back I kept thinking, why don’t I open a store like that? Austin was having so much luck with the CBD and hemp smokables, I just kept mulling it over.
At work one day some co-workers and I were talking about plans for the future and I stated that I wanted to open a hemp and CBD store, and I got a good response from my friend Daniel Joyner who is on the TIF Commission in Kirksville. I was surprised that anyone seemed positive to the idea so that kind of solidified my decision to open the store. I wanted to see people get off of Opioids and use our planet’s natural resources to care for their bodies. I wanted other people to have the same response as my husband, becoming happier, healthier, and in less pain. I wanted to help people do that.
Q: What kind of licensing do you have to operate a CBD store?
A: To open our store, I applied for a Federal Tax ID number, a State Tax ID number, and for all the appropriate State and City Licensing. I don’t have any special licensing as regulation on these products is currently very lax. I expect that to change in the very near future, and I’ll roll with that as things come along.
Q: Who can you sell CBD products to?
A: We sell CBD products to people 18 and older. We don’t sell tobacco or nicotine containing products, but since you can smoke hemp we’ll stick to the same rules as purchasing tobacco products. There is really no age requirement on these products set by law at this time. People can buy these products for their children’s use.
Q: What decisions have you made for your business as far as selling to adults and why?
A: I’m not trying to make life more difficult for law enforcement or parents/guardians of minor children. If a police officer saw a 12-year-old come out of my store and light up a hemp cigarette which contains no nicotine or tobacco, what’s that officer going to do? Waste his time questioning the kid and me… and kids just shouldn’t be smoking things. I’d just rather avoid that whole situation for the sake of everyone.
Q: What types of CBD products do you sell?
A: We sell the CBD oils, called a tincture, as the drops go under the tongue. We have CBD gummies, salves, pain gel and cream, oils for pets, honey sticks, honey lozenges, bath bombs, and skin cream. With hemp we offer the loose flower for people to roll and smoke, or pre-rolled smokables which are high in CBD and contain less than 0.3% THC. We have recently began carrying CBD Vape Oil cartridges and a small supply of smoking apparatuses to utilize our products.
Q: Why are people taking CBD products?
A: Most people come in to find something to help with their pain, but many people are trying to manage anxiety, depression, or to just “enhance their calm.” Some people have conditions I’ve never even heard of that they’ve been battling for years to no avail and are hoping that CBD can be the miracle they’re looking for. We’ve had a handful of parents come in for CBD oil or gummies to help their children’s ADD/ADHD, and some parents who are hoping CBD may make life a little easier on their children who have Autism. We’ve had people with cancer come in to buy CBD to help with their nausea or lack of appetite. A little lady on oxygen came in with her sister hoping to find some relief for her arthritis and other chronic pain. There are people who want to quit smoking and want a better option, like hemp, that they can smoke to steer away from the cigarettes. There have been people who were soldiers or paramedics or came from really rough backgrounds and they want help for their PTSD. The reasons never end, and we’re willing to help however we can.
Q: What are you doing to help customers and law enforcement understand your products are not the same as THC products?
A: I’m not looking to go to jail for any amount of time, and I find obeying the law works best for that. I will only buy hemp and CBD products that have been lab verified to only contain 0.3% THC or less. I request the testing paperwork with the products I order. I also keep my circle small. I buy these products from a select few suppliers who have been in this business for many years and have the proper licensing to grow hemp. One of my main suppliers works with several hemp farms and I trust him implicitly that he ensures those farmers are following all federal guidelines.
Q: How do you ensure your products don’t contain more than .3% of THC?
A: Our smokable hemp products and CBD oils come with Certificates of Analysis from the labs where the chemical content of the plants are tested. We place these certificates in a binder to be viewed by anyone who would like to know the chemical analysis of those products.
Q: What have you learned about the CBD market in the process of opening your business?
A: I have learned that many people want to get away from the medications they have been taking for years, or avoid certain medications entirely, that have terrible side effects or the chance of addiction. People want something more natural to manage their ailments. The CBD market is booming right now because with regulations being lifted on these products, people finally feel secure enough to look into buying them without the fear of legal trouble.
Q: What do you want people to know about CBD?
A: I want people to educate themselves on CBD, hemp, the endocannabinoid system in the human body, and even on marijuana. Having knowledge on why CBD works, where it comes from, how the body utilizes it, etc… is good information to know, and really opens a person’s eyes to the possibilities of managing human conditions without using potentially harmful or undesirable medications. Also, Cannabis is an amazing plant family which has been ostracized longer than most of us have been alive. We need to quit being scared of it.
Q: What is the biggest misconception people have about CBD you’ve experienced since you opened the store?
A: Most people just don’t know what CBD is or where it comes from. There’s a lot of misinformation out there, but if a person has been dealing with chronic pain for years and maybe had addiction problems with pain medications or is tired of the medication not working, it’s worth looking into CBD. DON’T BUY HEMP SEED OIL AND EXPECT IT TO DO WHAT CBD DOES. Many CBD oils come with hemp seed oil (or “hemp oil”) listed in the ingredients. Hemp seed oil is good for topical uses or cooking, but it tastes terrible if a person has CBD oil containing hemp oil. It’s fairly green and thick and won’t do much for you. Buy a good CBD oil that uses coconut or palm oil (may be called MCT oil) and only natural flavoring, if any. A good CBD oil with no flavoring will be nearly tasteless to slightly grassy tasting, which won’t last long in the mouth.
Q: Location?
A: We are located at 204 N. Franklin St. just off the square in Kirksville, MO.
Q: Hours?
A: We’re open Monday-Friday 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. and Saturdays 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. Closed Sundays.
Q: Phone Number?
A: Our telephone number is 660-956-0097.
