THC is the star of the show for most of the cannabis industry, but for Bex Kolb it's not even a bit player.
Spokane Valley's Bath by Bex has been manufacturing and selling CBD-infused personal care products since 2017, with a focus on bringing relief to users in the comfort of their home bathrooms. For Kolb, the work stems from personal experience.
"Medicinal marijuana can give me anxiety. Unfortunately, I'm one of the people that can have an adverse [reaction] to THC," Kolb says. "So while THC rubs are nice, I just found CBD topicals to be a little longer lasting, a little more pain relieving for me."
When Kolb started using CBD for pain relief back in 2014, there was little place for CBD-focused products in the nascent cannabis industry. It was an issue Kolb knew as well as anyone, as she was a budtender at the time.
With few options available to buy, Kolb decided to start making her own. What began as a small, online-only retailer with a small variety of offerings is now a storefront with dozens of products.
Despite expanding her inventory beyond bath bombs, Kolb still makes the products by hand.
"We have an array of skincare products now. And the bath bombs, because our balms have such real and natural ingredients in them, are also amazing for your skin," Kolb says.
The impetus behind the business was pain relief, but Kolb has since embraced the wider uses of CBD topicals.
"We make them in doses that are perfect for grandma with her arthritis and her hip pain. If you are just stressed out, we make a dose for you," Kolb says. "We even make kids' bath bombs that are safe for kids to use because they've got severe anxiety or growing pains, bath bombs can truly be for everyone."
When asked how to compare the feeling of CBD compared to THC, Kolb says it is more of a lack of feeling.
"It's more of a sense of relief," Kolb adds.
CBD has been touted as a panacea, but there are scientific studies showing the validity of some claims about the compound. It shows real promise as a treatment for issues such as anxiety, pain and insomnia.
Or, it can be used simply to enhance a relaxing bath on these nights that are growing longer and colder by the day. ♦