An earlier version incorrectly said Hemp House was the first storefront selling CBD in Chattanooga. Grass Roots actually opened a month earlier.

Seventh Sense CBD shop at Hamilton Place Mall is one of three shopping mall kiosks that Green Growth Brands opened in malls in the past month / Staff photo by Dave Flessner

Less than two years after Tennessee legalized the use of marijuana-derived cannabis oil, the marketing of hemp products in Chattanooga is growing like a weed, expanding from downtown head shops to upscale suburban malls.

More than a half dozen stores in Chattanooga now specialize in the sale of Cannabidiol or CBD, the non-psychoactive cannabinoid found in cannabis. The newest CBD shop known as Seventh Sense CBD opened last week in a kiosk at Hamilton Place Mall by Green Growth Brands, which is looking to expand its business in malls and shopping centers across the country as part of the company's strategy to try to "dominate the cannabis and CBD market" in America.

"Early results have seen Seventh Sense products selling at three times the typical performance of personal care products," Green Growth Brands CEO Peter Horvath said during an announcement this week of its third new mall store in the past month.

Green Growth has an agreement to open Seven Sense CBD kiosks in 108 shopping malls across the country owned by Simon Property Management by this summer. The company also began selling Seventh Sense CBD products in 96 DSW stores last month.

"CBD is becoming more mainstream and we continue to look for more partnerships to market our products," company spokesman Natalie Kelley said.

Horwath said CBD-infused body lotions, muscle balms, body wash, bath salts, sugar scrub, and face oil are all selling briskly at both company stores and on its internet site.

According to a new estimate from cannabis industry analysts at the Brightfield Group, the hemp-CBD market alone could hit $22 billion by 2022.

Dwayne Madden pioneered one of the first Chattanooga stores specializing in CBD Products in the fall of 2017 when he opened the Hemp House on Tremont Street just a month after Grass Roots Health opened on M.L. King Boulevard in September 2017. The new stores opened shortly after Gov. Bill Haslam signed legislation to allow cannabis oil for limited medical purposes in Tennessee.

Elisha Millan, owner of Grass Roots, said she has Crohn's disease and found CBD products helped her illness so she decided to open her store and try to help others by selling CBD products.

"Our business continues to grow with three or four new customers coming to us for the first time almost every day," Madden said. "We've got a pretty small shop but we're constantly full of people and we try to go out of our way to answer people's questions and give great customer service."

Madden said the product is also proving popular for many pet owners who give CBD oils or snacks to their dogs or cats to help with inflammation or arthritis issues. Some claim it even helps with tumors in their pets.

The business has been so strong that Madden's brother-in-law opened another Hemp House last week in Knoxville and Madden is preparing to add a second local Hemp House in East Ridge in April. The typical customer spends about $55 on their first purchase to sample the CBD oils, lotions and eatables, Madden said,

"People see that CBD really works and helps a lot of people," he said.

Bobby Rogers at Five Leaf Wellness said the CBD shop he helped open last September on Patten Parkway in September continues to attract more business.

"We're growing each and every day," he said.

Eco Exchange began offering CBD products in Chattanooga in early 2017 under the Little Tree and Kat's Natural labels, which have been sold at local shops and the Chattanooga Farmer's Market over the past couple of years. Brittany Gregg, one of the co-owners of Eco Exchange, said the company will begin offering 7-day-a-week home delivery of its CBD products next week via phone at 423-321-9878 or on its internet site, ecoexchange.shop

Among the other CBD shops in Chattanooga that have opened in the past two years are Grass Roots, 301 E. Martin Luther King Boulevard; Your CBD Store, 2265 Gunbarrel Road; Hemp ReLeaf CBD Dispensary, 4827 Highway 58; Lucidity and Kat's Naturals, 1405 Cowart Street, and Natural Body Spa & Shop, 300 Broad Street.

Contact Dave Flessner at dflessner@timesfreepress.com or at 757-6340