Store owners reflect their religious views through CBD business
In Macon-Bibb County, officials are considering decriminalizing misdemeanor marijuana possession.
And as more states begin to legalize the drug, there’s growing interest in a cannabis extract — cannabidiol, also known as CBD. This is legal in the state of Georgia as is the dried plant form if it’s hemp, which looks an awful lot like marijuana.
But, the two are strikingly different. Cannabis is a family of plants with two classifications — indica and sativa. Marijuana can be considered a member of either families and even be a hybrid, but hemp is solely a member of the Cannabis Sativa family. While hemp contains a very low concentration of THC, less than 0.3 percent, marijuana can have plenty and the THC is what makes you high, according to Business Insider.
The use of cannabis oil officially became legal in Georgia in 2015 and Georgians all over the state have jumped at the opportunity to partake in the wave of CBD usage.
Big Jon’s CBD in Macon tries to bring a different perspective to CBD use in the Deep South. Jonathan keene, the store’s co-owner and founder, says he wanted to create a company that reflected his views of Christianity.
“For years, I struggled with Christianity, with god, with all of that because what people act like in the churches today and what they preach are two different things,” Keene said.
He aims to “spread love” to the community. Providing CBD products to aid customers is part of how he plans to do that, Keene said.
“We feel like what we’re doing here has a tremendous impact on people lives and the quality of their life,” Roland Holloway, co-owner of Big Jon’s CBD, said.
Ultra Health carries a range of different products from oils and topicals to edibles in hemp flower form. There’s no substantial medical evidence to indicate CBD at these levels is a viable option for medicinal alternatives. However, Holloway said he’s heard testimonials from people of all ages.
“I just thought, ‘Man, we can’t not do this’,” Holloway said.
Big Jon’s CBD has specials for veterans at the store. The owners also host community events like bible study there and formerly had a cross in their logo before rebranding last week.
“We’re using this business as simply a platform to share our faith,” Holloway said.
Keene said they’ve faced a number of roadblocks in the efforts to develop a CBD store in the Deep South.
“Whether it being with money fines that we would have to pay in order to get licensing and application fees to being raided and having the sheriff’s department come up here and raid us,” Keene said.
Those who do not approve of the CBD store’s association with religion are entitled to their own opinion, Keene said.
“If their relationship with god and their focus on religion drives them to have a (disdain) with my company then there’s a bigger problem with what they’ve got going on than what I’m doing,” Keene said. “It doesn’t really matter what you’re doing. I don’t care. You could be a singer athlete business owner CBD seller. It doesn’t matter. If you do everything for His glory and to make him known, then you’re good. You’re good and you’re winning.”
