LUMBERTON – A native of Lumberton took his place as an entrepreneur in the cannibidiol industry, hoping to give back to his community, hometown and people like his father-in-law who struggle with debilitating health conditions.
Cannibidiol, or CBD, comes from hemp flower and does not have the ability to induce a “low” for users. CBD derived from industrial hemp plants is legal under United States law. The product continues to be sold in the United States, with claims to remedy health problems and improve mood. And Ron Elkins, a native of Lumberton and a graduate of Lumberton High School in 1996, entered the market.
In December 2020, Hobgood Hemp was born, and Elkins, a partner in the business, hopes his CBD derivatives will make a difference in improving the “quality of life” of people in Hobgood, Halifax County and other areas, such as Lumberton . The company is fulfilling orders for products like cream and CBD oil, with the hope of making more marketing connections. Hemp grown on David Mayer farms is used for the production of CBD.
Elkins said the benefits of the hemp plant were achieved after his father-in-law, David Mayer, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease more than a decade ago. He started using the oil, which helped with tremors, sleep and anxiety, said Elkins.
Mayer continues to cultivate and enjoy time with his grandchildren because of the benefits related to CBD oil, he said.
“For me, he is the heart behind what we are doing,” said Elkins.
In 2016, Mayer participated in the Industrial Hemp Pilot Program in North Carolina, when he started growing hemp, said Elkins. In May, Mayer began talking seriously with Elkins about the commercial sale of CBD oil in bulk. After some debate and initially rejecting the idea, Elkins finally agreed to help lead a journey to make a difference in other people’s lives.
“We have seen so many people get help with this,” said Elkins.
“We saw it first hand in our family,” he added.
“CBD has been praised for a wide variety of health problems, but the strongest scientific evidence is its effectiveness in treating some of the most cruel childhood epilepsy syndromes, such as Dravet’s syndrome and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome ( LGS), which do not normally respond to anticonvulsant medications. In several studies, CBD was able to reduce the number of seizures and, in some cases, managed to stop them completely, ”wrote Dr. Peter Grinspoon in an article on the Harvard Health Publishing blog at Harvard Medical School.
Grinspoon teaches medicine in medical school.
Studies have been done to test the effectiveness of CBD oil in conditions such as anxiety and chronic pain, and much remains to be learned about the products, he said.
“Without sufficient high-quality evidence in human studies, we cannot determine effective doses and, since CBD is currently available primarily as an unregulated supplement, it is difficult to know exactly what you are receiving,” said Grinspoon.
Oil production does not depend on many hemp plants, said Elkins. This means that a little bit of hemp helps a lot.
For example, 50 pounds of hemp flowers can produce more than 1,200 CBD products, he said.
And while Mayer’s farm has been successful with the BaOx and Sweeten hemp varieties, interest in Robeson County has waned, according to Mac Malloy, agricultural agent for agricultural crops at the North Carolina Cooperative Extension, Robeson County Center.
Interest in the crop peaked in 2019 for Robeson County, with a “drastic” drop in production seen in 2020, Malloy said.
“There were a lot of diseases and problems with insects,” said Malloy.
Some experienced farmers and other producers have also had trouble selling the crop, he said. And external production proved to be marginal, with 50% of the forecasted yield.
“It is not a culture as easy to grow as they thought,” said Malloy.
At the same time, in 2019, there were 18 people licensed to grow hemp in the county, he said. Interest in 2020 had dropped and Malloy had not recently received calls about licenses to grow the crop.
“It was like someone turned a button,” he said.
But studies continue on plant fertility and disease, said Malloy.
“We are still building research data,” he said.
The plant’s fibers can be used to make “hemp concrete,” a substitute for concrete, and other materials used in construction, Malloy said. Some people also eat the seeds of the plant.
As for the resurgence of interest in the municipality, Malloy said that there is “potential”.
“I think the market is going to boost production,” he said.
And Elkins also hopes for the best when starting the networking, marketing and sales process.
For him and his company, Elkins says that “the sky is the limit”.
Elkins lives in Hobgood with his wife, Amanda, and two children: Andrew, 16, and Jacob Elkins, 14.