The Leader • Saturday, July 6, 2019 • Page 1B
CBD stores becoming big business CBD Sales
1,812
Consumer Sales in Million U.S. Dollars 1,546
2000 1900 1800 1700 1600 1500 1400 1300
Total CBD sales in the U.S, with asterisks denoting projected sales.
1,153
1200 1100 1000
813.2
900
Source: statista.com
800 700
512.7 262.2
600 500
358.4
400 300
108.1 172.9 2014 2015 2016 2017* 2018* 2019* 2020* 2021* 2022* By Betsy Denson betsy@theleadernews.com When Joe Costello started managing Better Days Hemp CBD Shop at 2524 Yale St. four years ago, products containing CBD – which stands for cannabidiol – didn’t occupy much space in a shop that also sells cigars, glass art, pendants, hookahs and clothing. “Now CBD products take up one-third of the store,” Costello said. Costello said business is so good that Better Days is opening up two more stores -- one at Durham Street and I-10 and one in Webster. The number of CBD stores in the area has been growing, which coincides with a national trend. A recent Inc Magazine article titled, “The Next Gold Rush Is the $22 Billion CBD Business,” cited statistics from the Hemp Business Journal that said the market for CBD was about $190 million in 2017 and will boom to $646 million by 2022. The national Agriculture
Improvement Act of 2018, otherwise known as the 2018 Farm Bill, legalized the regulated production of hemp. And in June of this year, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law House Bill 1325, which will also allow farmers in Texas to grow hemp with regulations. The Texas law clarifies the legality of CBD products as long as they contain no more than 0.3 percent of THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana. A recent newsletter from Heights of Health owner Tracy Wakefield Southwick, a board certified holistic health practitioner, clarified that CBD is not marijuana. “In fact it is an extract made from the cousin hemp plant and is not psychoactive or addictive,” Wakefield said. “CBD can legally contain up to 0.3 percent of THC ... but the amount is so small that you would not feel any effect from it.” Hemp Industry Daily reports that since passage of the 2018 Farm Bill, more people
200 100
are replacing CBD products with their prescription and over-the-counter drugs, citing a 2019 Consumer Reports survey of more than 4,000 CBD users. About one-fourth of those surveyed used CBD to replace over-the-counter drugs such as Tylenol as well as prescription drugs, including opioids, anti-anxiety medications and sleep aids. Those are the kind of people that Pricila Rodriguez is seeing at her newly opened Sacred Leaf Zero store located at 4721 N. Main St. Rodriguez used to manage a Katy Sacred Leaf Zero store before she opened the one on North Main. Sacred Leaf Zero is a Kansas-based company and Rodriguez said their products are derived from hemp farmed in Colorado. She said customers who either can’t or don’t want to use opioids are seeking products to alleviate inflammatory issues and anxiety. “They are looking for an alternative,” said Rodriguez said, who added that people
Photo by Landan Kuhlmann Dominic Drouin, left, listens as CBD American Shaman in the Heights managing partner Danny Cassidy explains the benefits of CBD.
also shop for their pets. The tinctures, or oils, are the store’s best sellers, although they also sell capsules and other edibles. The products that Sacred Leaf sells have zero THC, hence their name. Rodriguez said products with and without THC are equally effective. Another newcomer to the business is Danny Cassidy, who opened CBD American Shaman of Houston Heights in April at 1241 W. 11th St. Like Sacred Leaf Zero, American Shaman is a franchise with its own brand of products. Cassidy said he learned about CBD when his father was having back pain. “We researched it,” Cassidy said. “He started getting the benefit.” Cassidy said he believes people need a small concentration of THC for medicinal benefit, although American Shaman sells products without it, too, due to the zero-tolerance policy of some employers. He said the business has done a lot of online advertising. “We’re getting repeat customers, too,” Cassidy said.
Mia and Joe Heil recently broke ground on construction for their preschool at 1901 W. 34th St. Oak Forest Academy is scheduled to open in January. The Heils purchased about an acre from Braun Enterprises to build the school. Both Oak Forest Academy and Braun’s development next door at 2001 W. 34th St. are on the land formerly owned by Aztec Rental. The school is a new venture for the Heils, who are former Oak Forest residents. Mia Heil said although she’s been interested in education her whole life, she originally earned a finance degree and worked in consulting and oil and gas. Six years ago, when she had her son, her desire to be involved in the education industry was reignited. She realized the tremendous impact of education and childcare on children and their parents, and she began to formulate plans for an early education center that would use creative and innovative methods to maximize the positive impact for students, parents, teachers and the local community. “I saw so many opportunities to improve upon the traditional approaches to early childhood education,” Heil said. She recruited a team of experts to help develop the concept, which is now Oak Forest Academy. Now a mother of three, Heil is ready to open Oak Forest Academy, which will serve infants through preschool-aged children. She said capacity for the school is 220 children, and there are full-week and partial-
a label and sell it to people,” Bonn-Miller said. There is a move to tame the industry, however. Though the Farm Bill allowed the production of hemp, it also stated that the Food and Drug Administration will regulate CBD production. An April PBS See CBD P. 4B
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Business briefs: Oak Forest Academy to open in January By Betsy Denson betsy@theleadernews.com
entitled, “CBD Oil: All the Rage, But Is It Safe & Effective?” Marcel Bonn-Miller, an adjunct assistant professor of psychology in psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, called the CBD trade the “Wild West.” “Joe Bob who starts up a CBD company could say whatever the hell he wants on
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paint us two new ones,” Flying Saucer said on its Facebook page. “One for the front and one for the back.” Schlotzsky’s restaurants rebrand Schlotzsky’s has rebranded its remaining 370-plus restaurants with the name of the city where it was founded in 1971. The change to Schlotzsky’s Austin Eatery took effect in Houston on June 22 and, according to a news release, the restaurants will feature “handcrafted food and beverage offerings, an eclectic, purposeful design and a unique dining experience.” Select Schlotzsky’s Austin Eatery locations will also carry craft beer and wine and feature happy hours throughout the week. Schlotzsky’s is also focusing on third-party delivery, catering, take-out and drive-thru efficiencies. Don’t worry, the menu still includes The Original Schlotzsky’s sandwich.
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See Biz P. 2B Contributed photo Oak Forest Academy co-owner Mia Heil poses with her children.
week options available. On board are Education Curriculum Director Jolene Yoakum, Operations Director Lisa Gale and Speech Language Pathologist Emily Wooten. “We’re still enrolling, and we’re so excited for the opportunity to serve this wonderful community,” Heil said. For more information, visit www.oakforestacademy.com. Flying Saucer Pie Shop reopened After announcing it was closing for a “much-needed
facelift” in May, Flying Saucer has completed a remodel and general spruce-up. The store said it had hoped to be back in business for Father’s Day but opened its doors again a few days after that. Improvements include new counters, a new back cooler, new floors and a new roof. The iconic space mural featuring the happy green alien is still there – a nod to Flying Saucer’s origins during the rise of the Apollo spaceflight program – and there are some new murals in the works. “We are getting Magik to
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