CBDowntown: CBD stores take root in Birmingham

Jennifer Otwell began taking cannabidiol, or CBD, oil after giving birth to her child. Otwell was having trouble sleeping, and that led to the onset of anxiety and depression.

Medical professionals advised her to combat her health issues with prescription drugs. But she sought an alternative, natural solution — and found it in CBD.

“It took about three months,” Otwell said, “but by then I was so leveled out I was no longer having any of the issues.”

Otwell became a believer in CBD’s medicinal value and in August 2018 decided to open her own online store called Magic City Organics. It has done so well that she created a brick-and-mortar location this August on 37th St. S. in Forest Park.

Magic City Organics was the second specialty CBD store to open in Birmingham’s city limits this year. Near To Me CBD opened in May on 15th Avenue South, next to Zydeco.

“We’re helping a lot of people,” Near To Me owner John Parker said. “It’s super gratifying.”

While CBD products can be found at pharmacies, vape stores and a host of other locations downtown, Magic City Organics and Near to Me CBD are the only two stores that focus primarily on CBD.

Both businesses operate independently, unlike the Your CBD Store chain that has opened locations in Trussville, Mountain Brook and along U.S. 280.

“I got into this because I wanted to find a better quality product but for a better price,” Otwell said, “and educate the market because I felt like there wasn’t enough education in Birmingham.”

Otwell and Parker can operate their stores because of a pivotal decision made last December in Washington, D.C. The U.S. Congress passed a bill — the 2018 Farm Bill — that legalized the sale of products derived from industrial hemp plants as long as they contain less than 0.3% tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC. THC is the psychoactive compound found in marijuana plants that makes people high.

Hemp and marijuana plants are different species of cannabis, with hemp containing a high concentration of CBD and low concentration of THC and marijuana containing a high concentration of THC and low concentration of CBD.

CBD proponents such as Otwell and Parker tout its many benefits.

“It can help with sleep, it can help with anxiety, it can help with depression, it can help with allergies, insomnia, but it’s not going to make you feel like you’re messed up or something like that,” Otwell said. “Some people find it to be more subtle; some people find it to be drastic and life-changing.”

Consider Parker among those who found CBD life-changing. He said it has helped treat his arthritis, acid reflux and inability to sleep.

“I’m sleeping eight to 10 hours a night now versus years and years and years of probably an average of four per night,” he said.

At Near To Me CBD, Parker sells CBD-infused oils, topicals, edibles, teas and vapes, along with smokable hemp flowers and pet products. He said his hemp is sourced from farms around the country and has been lab-tested.

Some products contain no THC, while others contain nominal amounts.

But, Parker said, “everything is 100% legal.”

That’s also the case at Magic City Organics, where Otwell has selected her inventory carefully. It features many products similar to those offered at Near To Me, but she also carries her own Magic City Organics line.

Otwell sources some of her products from small, female-owned farms in Oregon and others from farms in Colorado and Tennessee.

It has all been a hit so far. “When our business really took off was the first of the year,” Otwell said, “and it’s been very steady from then until now.”

Otwell’s store is different than Near To Me in that it serves customers by appointment only. She also hosts gatherings to educate people about what she’s selling.

“We listen to what they have to say, and then we essentially just try to help them find the best products for them,” Otwell said, “because obviously we give no medical advice.”

Even so, Magic City Organics gets a lot of doctor’s referrals. Otwell said many people, like her, desire treatment options other than prescription drugs.

“People are at their wit’s end,” she said. “They’re tired of taking a pill for every single symptom they have only to find out that it’s now created a new slew of issues.”

For more information about Magic City Organics, go to magiccityorganics.com or call 205-567-0334. For more information about Near To ME CBD, go to neartomecbd.com or call 205-407-5125.