By VICKI BROWN
vbrown@lowcountry.com
Walterboro officials welcomed a new store on Tuesday, April 20. The Charleston Hemp Company, located at 126 North Memorial Drive, was welcomed with an official ribbon-cutting ceremony, done by The Colleton Chamber of Commerce.
Charleston Hemp was founded in 2018, and was among the first licensed hemp growers in the state. Lou and Lina Worthy bought the company in January, and have since opened stores in Goose Creek, Orangeburg, Summerville, and now Walterboro.
“A lot of our products are grown locally and manufactured in Dorchester County, so this is a lowcountry company,” said Worthy.
The store carries tinctures, rubs, salves, incense, gummies and smokables. As Worthy put it, “You name it…we have it.”
Worthy was born and raised in South Carolina, but moved to southern California. While living there, he had a motorcycle accident that caused him to live in severe pain for years, he said.
“I was taking Vicodin and Flexeril for my injuries and cortisone shots in my knees every three to six months. A friend introduced me to CBD, and I haven’t taken a doctor prescribed medication since,” said Worthy.
CBD, or cannabidiol, oil is made by extracting CBD from the cannabis plant, then diluting it with an oil like hemp seed oil. Its scientific studies have confirmed that it has anti-inflammatory properties and can alleviate a host of health issues.
According to the US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health, marijuana has been used to treat pain as far back as 2900 B.C.
Scientists have discovered that certain components of marijuana, like CBD, have pain-relieving effects. The human body produces endocannabinoids, which are neurotransmitters that bind to cannabinoid receptors in the nervous system. It is believed that CBD may help reduce chronic pain by activating endocannabinoid receptors, which reduce inflammation.
Several human studies have found that a combination of CBD and THC is effective in treating pain related to multiple sclerosis and arthritis, anxiety disorders, depression, symptoms related to cancer like nausea and vomiting, reduce breast cancer cells, acne, epilepsy, seizures, neurological diseases, Parkinson’s disease, insomnia and high blood pressure that leads to strokes and heart attacks.
According to the Institute of Health, CBD may also help people with schizophrenia and other mental disorders, treat substance abuse and drug addiction, prevent the spread of breast, prostate, brain, colon and lung cancer, and treat diabetes.
“You can put the oil under your tongue, or use a salve and rub it on your skin. You can even eat it in gummy bears and chocolate,” said Worthy. Taken orally, the effects can last anywhere from six to twelve hours.
Mike Lavoie is a firm believer in the products the store carries. “My wife Bambi and I were driving an hour to get this salve from the Charleston Hemp Company,” said Lavoie. “I couldn’t believe how much better my pain was when I used it. It was almost gone immediately.”
The Lavoies persuaded the Worthys to bring their store to Walterboro so that other people could experience pain relief, too.
“I even bought some of this salve and sent it to my brother in Maine for his pain relief,” said Lavoie. He has also sent some to his sister in Massachusetts and another sister in Georgia who all swear by the product.
The new local store also features skin care products by Cluck Norris, a company from Summerville that makes lotions, soaps, and other skin products named after their chicken, and products by Georgia Belle, also made in Summerville.
The store is also selling treats for dogs who have anxiety. “These come in handy during the fourth of July fireworks,” said Worthy who gives some to his yellow lab during those frightening days. With the Rice Festival coming up, the CBD dog treats may be just the thing needed to calm a pet during the noise of the fireworks.
