Ag report: Debunking the myths of hemp & CBD

CANTON, New York (WWNY) - Northern Limits Farm started as a way for Joe Eisele, Madison Laubsher, and their families to grow organic food. But five years ago, they added another crop.

“We were trying to find CBD sources that were what they said they were, and we had trouble with that, so we decided to do it ourselves,” said Joe Eisele of Grass River Hemp in Canton.

CBD — or cannabidial — is not marijuana. It comes from the hemp plant but doesn’t have the psychoactive ingredients that many associate with cannabis.

“It helps reduce overall pain and inflammation, stress, and anxiety,” Madison Laubscher said. “It’s an amazing sleep aid and that’s just of the iceberg when it comes to working with this plant.”

Using products like CBD oils or salves can ease pain or rashes and will not get you high.

“Try the balm, put it on your arthritic fingers, put it on your knees,” Eisele said. “The pain will go away within minutes, and you’ll say, -Why didn’t I try this years ago?’”

And products aren’t limited to humans.

CBD is great on people,” Eisele said, “but it’s next level on dogs and horses. It’ll take a geriatric dog with mobility problems and turn it into a puppy in three days.

Eisele and Laubsher say many people still view CBD as taboo and confuse it for a drug. In reality, it’s just a plant.

This plant puts huge roots down and just grows,” Eisele said. “Like a weed, as they say. There’s still hesitancy to try it, especially among older people, which is frustrating at times because you have such an incredible plant that grows up from the ground. It doesn’t get more natural than that. You can heal yourself with it, you can build your house with it, you can clothe yourself with it. After doing this for so many years, I’m convinced this is the companion plant for people.”

At Grasse River Hemp, as the plants get bigger, the hope is that the stigma gets smaller.

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