We imagine the people suffering who need support and think about how we are growing the plants to help them.


~Lara Miller


stressed out, cannabinoid levels go way down,” Bongiorno says. While prescription drugs overwhelm the body with adverse side effects, CBD can healthfully bring back balance. But CBD won’t trigger an altered state


because there is little to no tetrahydrocan- nabinol (THC), the psychoactive chemical in marijuana that produces a high, he says, adding that he starts patients at a low daily dose of 25 milligrams. It’s important to talk with a physician


about drug interactions, Bongiorno says. For instance, CBD can increase levels of blood-thinning medications, according to a 2017 study published in Epilepsy & Behavior Case Reports. CBD can possibly treat a wide range


of conditions, from fear of public speak- ing to bipolar and post-traumatic stress disorders, but more research is needed, experts say. A 2018 clinical trial published in JAMA Psychiatry suggests CBD offers potential in treating psychosis. More recently, researchers in a 2019 case study of 27 patients published by the Permanente Journal concluded, “Cannabidiol may hold benefit for anxiety-related disorders.”


Seeds of Hope Te most important step consumers can take to find a safe, quality product is to know where their CBD comes from, experts say. Lara Miller is an organic farmer in Lafayette, Colorado, who in 2017 dedicated a parcel of her two-acre farm to growing hemp for her business, North Field Farmacy. “I added in hemp because it is a dynamic plant that produces fiber, seed and medicine for us humans, all at the same time,” she says. Miller’s small, women-owned business


grows the leafy plants outdoors in organic soil and harvests by hand. “We test in the field, post-harvest, during extraction and in the final product,” she says. “We know our


March 2020 17


product is clean and pure and potent.” Tis isn’t always the case. A 2017


study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association showed that in 84 CBD products sold online by 31 companies, 26 percent contained less CBD than the amount listed on the label. Miller receives weekly calls from those


wanting to purchase her plants and start a CBD business. “What bothers me the most is that not one person has asked how my hemp is grown,” she says. “It all feels like a big grab; the integrity isn’t there.”


Miller continues to decline these


requests and spends her days on the farm, where—come harvest time—she, alongside her crew, engages in some visualizations. “We imagine the people suffering who need support and think about how we are growing the plants to help them.”


Julie Marshall is a Colorado-based writer and author of Making Burros Fly: Cleveland Amory, Animal Rescue Pioneer. Connect with her at FlyingBurros@gmail.com.


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