Now open in Hoods Crossroads, Get Me Some Green is a self-dubbed “old school apothecary” promoting health applications of CBD and hemp products.
“The original idea was kind of like an old school apothecary with a modern twist,” says co-owner Eric Wilkes. “Heather always wanted to open up a little apothecary, and I always wanted to open a hemp store, so we combined the two together.”
“We focus on hemp and CBD education,” says co-owner Heather Wilkes. “Our main goal is that when people walk in, we teach them how CBD can be used in place of big pharma, big opioids, over-the-counter pain medication, to see if you can heal yourself more naturally.”
“We are just now discovering that our body has this endocannabinoid system, which allows our bodies to have receptors that directly correlate with the terrapins found in the hemp plant,” says Heather. “What we’re doing is teaching people how those terrapins work in our body, why CBD has those terrapins and how they can benefit you.”
The medical applications of CBD are numerous and varied. Heather gives the example of a patient she treated who suffered from Multiple Sclerosis. “When we first started working with her, she was using arm crutches, having a really difficult time managing her life . . . She’s been on a regimen for about a year and a half now, and she no longer needs arm crutches. She’s able to function normally. Last time she went to the doctor to have her brain scanned, he was shocked at how most of the lesions in her brain had shrunk to the size of a dime.”
CBD can help treat and manage a variety of conditions: chronic pain, arthritis, autoimmune disorders, alzheimer’s, and Crohn’s disease, to name a few. But between 5 and 25 mg of CBD per day can also help your average person to lead an overall healthier life. “It balances your endocrine system, it balances your hormones,” says Heather. “We are under so much stress today. The average human being is under 80% more stress today than the average human being in the 50s. We have so much sensory input coming at us. We constantly have a phone or a TV or a radio on.” A daily dose of CBD can help to calm what Heather calls “flight or fight syndrome” so we handle the day and all its stresses better.
“I like to compare it to drinking a cup of water,” says Heather. “Your body needs water. If you’re dehydrated, everything in your body is going to feel it. Your skin’s going to look bad, your hair is going to be dry, you’re going to have dry patches on your elbows and your wrists, your organs are going to start to suffer.” Heather explains that your body uses CBD in the same way it uses water; where water focuses on your individual cells, CBD works with your neurological, endocrine and nervous systems.
Get Me Some Green carries a wide variety of hemp and CBD products to suit anyone’s needs: oils and tinctures, capsules and softgels, balms for topical and dermal issues, massage oils and lotions, gummies, even CBD compression stockings for runners and athletes. “We don’t make any of our own products,” says Heather. “We source products from brands that meet our quality standards which are higher than the FDA standards. We’re very particular. We won’t carry just anything.”
In addition to CV Sciences, a nationally recognized medical brand, they also carry two locally sourced brands from North Carolina: Forest Remedies and Founders Hemp. ““It makes us really proud to say we can carry local brands that passed all of our testing,” says Heather.
The number one misconception people have about the CBD and hemp products the Wiskes promote is that it’s about getting high. “Does CBD come from the marijuana plant? Yes it does,” affirms Heather, “but it’s very similar to, say, tomatoes. You’ve got your cherry tomatoes and then you’ve got your big boy tomatoes. They’re both tomatoes The leaf looks exactly the same. But they have different genetic makeups.”
Much like varieties of tomatoes that differ on the genetic level, CBD does not have the same terrapins as the marijuana plant. CBD lacks THC, the tetrahydrocannabinol responsible for marijuana’s psychoactive effects, like hallucinations and nausea. All of the products sold by Get Me Some Green meet the federal limit of .3% or less THC. Some of their CBD and hemp products contain zero THC. Another common misconception about CBD is that you have to smoke it. Get Me Some Green does sell a smokable version, which can be useful for PTSD patients, but in reality there are many different delivery systems.
“It’s so expensive! That’s another one we get,” adds Heather, noting that there are companies who take advantage of customers with high markups. “We do everything in our power to work with vendors that keep the prices low,” says Heather, reminding customers that her focus is health, not recreation. “It shouldn’t be so expensive that it’s not helping the people it’s intended to help. In actuality we’re dealing with a weed. We’re dealing with something that grows like bamboo. We make sure all our products are well below market just to make it attainable to people.”
In addition to their focus on medical applications and commitment to keeping costs low, the Wiskes feel the personal attention they give their customers sets them apart from other local CBD retailers. “When you order from us online, we’re not going to just ship it to you,” says Heather. “We’re going to call and verify that you’re the one that ordered it. Are you sure you know what you ordered? Do you have any questions? We make a really big point of having a personal relationship with each of the people who order from us so we can find out exactly what they need and make sure that they chose the right product. That personal feel is really important to us. We want to be like your neighborhood apothecary.”
Get Me Some Green’s grand opening on Saturday, December 1, was all about education and community. Starting at 10:00 am, the shop presented a series of talks on topics like light therapy, CBD 101, and CBD in massage. One of their distributors gave a talk as well. The day featured live music, face painting, plenty of valuable giveaways and a hemp beer tasting hosted by New Belgium. At 4:20, they lit the store’s small Christmas tree.
“My biggest thing is I want people to feel welcome when they come to the store,” says Heather. “A lot of people are scared. They’re scared to ask questions. I want anybody regardless of their age, demeanor, lifewalk, whatever, to feel comfortable coming in here and getting the information they need to hear. Whether they buy from me or not is not the point. I just want them to feel welcome and educated.”
Get Me Some Green is located at 3519 Matthews-Mint Hill Road. In addition to CBD and hemp products, they also offer light and massage therapies and ear coning.
