Shaun is an active advocate in the cannabis community. He is a husband, a father and a vet. This is Shaun's journey with CBD....
Why do you use CBD?
"Pain relief and insomnia. To not have to take medications"
“Also, it makes me feel almost like-better most of the time to know what it is you’re using vs. a pain reliever your doctor gives you."
Does anyone else in your family use CBD?
Wife when her knees are bad
Eldest daughter uses bath bombs
"My mother-in-law was a pediatric nurse with severe arthritis. She rubs on Cannabombz roll-ons her wrists and her fingers straighten out completely. She takes shots of Hummara once a month that are super expensive."
How did you discover CBD?
Did research online
"I’m a veteran so my doctor and I were talking… He said I could try the options; I spoke with him about MJ and tried to get his thoughts on it.
He asked me if I drink. He said he’d rather see me on cannabis than drinking every day. My wife also wanted me to have relief but didn’t want me to be high all the time. I love the anti-anxiety roll-on. I work at home and am on the phone at a stressful job. When I use it I can literally feel a calming feeling (almost like a hug) like 5-6 minutes after."
Was CBD hard for you to acquire?
“Yeah, there’s not enough education about it. Even at the dispensaries --- those people aren’t the most educated (on) CBD.
I’ve tried so many kinds that wouldn’t work or were too expensive. The capsules didn’t work. I prefer topical. Your bombs are my favorite product. My back stops hurting for 3-4 days after I use one."
How has it made a difference in your everyday life?
"The insomnia roll-on helps me sleep better. It helps my back get through the day as far as pain not being there.
The only thing I haven’t tried is straight CBD vape."
How has it affected your relationship with family/friends?
"Oh, yeah! It makes me more mobile. I’m able to do more things on the weekend if I were going to go somewhere with my family. I’m in a better mood --- more pleasant to be around. It seems like it gets me off the couch and I just realize I’m up doing stuff like, ‘Oh I wasn’t doing this ten minutes ago.’”
Tell me about your life/pain before CBD…
"Oh man, that’s a rough one… it was literally the worst. I would have to drive far to work every day and literally just walking into work from my car… I would have to stop in the parking lot on the walk inside and wait for the pain to subside.
I would just smoke before work… but then when it wears off, I had to either smoke again or just lie on the couch. Driving a car was almost impossible."
Has it affected your career in anyway?
"Yeah I had to take FMLA (Family Medical Leave Act) ((Protects you from losing your job when you have to take excessive time off for medical reasons)) before and my boss was a total loser.
She ended up getting fired because she was harassing me for taking too many days off. One day I came in to work when I shouldn’t have, because of the pressure, and ended up getting physically sick from pain meds and having to come home."
Do/did you take any pharmaceutical medicine with/before CBD?
"Pain medicine but I got too sick at work. Tylenol."
Do you feel like there is a stigma with CBD?
"Yeah I feel like there is… I know there is. Especially if I’m at work. I can’t use some products that don’t have enough of a different smell… When I’m at work and applying it I always worry that people are wondering what I’m doing.
I do a really good job of spreading the word when I think people would benefit, but I feel like 50% of people aren’t cool with it because, I think, this is my opinion, that they’re not educated. I feel like there could be a lot more educational info. Especially on CBD --- that’s way more beneficial."
Tell me about your CBD journey in a few words?
"Eye Opening. Because of CBD there are paths that it’s leading me to go down that is not only physically and mentally making me a better person, but its opening doors to meeting other people and educating people."