As co-owner and vice president of sales for the CBD boutique, Growing in Health, Hans Doherty and his partners, Jeff Pepi and Job Roach, make it their mission to educate current and potential clients on various treatment options that utilize alternative medicine – specifically, CBD products.
They opened their first shop in New Bedford after seeing the need in the area for easy-to-purchase, US-made CBD products that really work. Just this year, they opened a second location on the Cape, in Mashpee. They carry a wide variety of CBD and hemp products that can help with various medical conditions for adults, children and pets.
“While the flagship New Bedford location is now back to its pre-COVID operations, the first six months of this year were going to be dedicated to meeting and collaborating with the Mashpee community” said Doherty. That opportunity was denied, due to stay-at-home orders. Now, however, with regulations lifting, he’s hopeful that the Mashpee community will have the opportunity to visit and get to know its new neighbor.
Education about CBD is important, Doherty said. There are many misconceptions about it that he and his team can clarify for anyone who is looking for answers.
For example, CBD is not the same as THC. THC is the component in marijuana that causes a “high.” CBD is only one of many compounds found in the cannabis plant. It is used for anxiety, pain, stress, GI tract issues, Parkinson’s disease, Crohn’s disease, and many other conditions. And, although it does not produce the high that THC does, it helps the mind focus, and helps calm the body.
Cannabinoid research continues to hold great interest to the scientific and medical communities. While only one type of CBD drug is currently federally approved (a prescription drug product to treat two rare, severe forms of epilepsy), the development of therapies and other consumer products derived from cannabis and its components, including cannabidiol (CBD), patients have widely reported feeling relief from using products that contain CBD.
Doherty also added that not all CBD is the same. Some products are stronger than others, some are tested differently. While some work, others don’t. While one product may not work for one person, it may work very well for another. That, he said, is why he’s here – to help and to answer questions.
“Eight out of 10 people have felt relief from our products,” he said. “Last time I checked, we were at 83 percent customer retention in our New Bedford store, which is huge. This is the future of cannabis.”
Growing in Health carries a variety of products in the forms of topicals, tinctures, concentrates, hemp rolls, gummies, vape, honey sticks, flower form (for smoking), and more. Growing in Health products are triple-tested, made in the USA, and meet industry standards and dosage accuracy.
“All of these products are just different manners of ingesting CBD,” said Doherty. “It doesn’t have anything necessarily to do with one working better than another. It’s personal preference. The fastest means of absorption is under the tongue, sublingual – the drops. But again, depending on what the problem is, we’ll offer a recommendation. We can also customize a product to match what a person’s particular issue is.”
Growing in Health is also a premier cannabis home health aid agency, and can assist in all the facets of medical marijuana licensure for those who need it, from booking your certifying physician appointment and processing your Department of Public Health paperwork, to helping you obtain treatment for your specific ailment.
“We‘ve been very busy providing medical certifications,” Doherty said. ”We work with the doctors and medical professionals who can certify you as a patient, so you can get your card and go to the medical dispensaries.” Having a medical marijuana card not only allows you to use the most effective products from medical dispensaries, it also allows the cardholder to avoid the 23 percent state tax on marijuana products, he added.
Growing in Health, however, is all about CBD, as well the compounds CBG, CBN and, with your medical card, they can help you get THC from the dispensary.
“We know CBD is not the ‘one and done’,” said Doherty. “Good health is never just a pill or just one thing. It’s several things – the chiropractic, the dietary, the meditation, the yoga, the Reiki – all of that is part of what we recommend here. We work with aesthetician Elizabeth Corey (of Summerfield Spa) in this very plaza who has our products and can apply them for you.”
“Ultimately, what people want to know is … is this going to work for me?” said Doherty.
Growing in Health offers both in-store and online shopping, with same-day delivery. If you have any questions, concerns or are just looking for a little education, you can visit the website at www.growthinhealth.org.
Author’s note: I can tell you this – it worked for me.
When I visited Growing in Health’s Mashpee location to speak with Doherty, it was a rainy morning and it was obvious I was in some pain. Lower back pain is almost a constant for me these last few months, particularly in bad weather.
Doherty gave me a quarter-size sample tub of a topical product called Zuri Freeze (1,000 ml), which I applied to my lower back. After only a few minutes, the area grew warm. A few minutes later, it became cold. The feeling was pleasant and, although the pain didn’t disappear completely, it had been reduced noticeably and remained so for several hours. I was impressed, to say the least.
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