HIAWASSEE, Ga. – Randal Forehand and Vicky Bateman, owners of Natures Health and Body, celebrated the grand opening of the area’s first retailer dedicated to hemp-based CBD oil products, Wednesday, Nov. 20. CBD is the medical abbreviation for cannabidiol, one of the primary active compounds derived from cannabis plants. The extracted compound is highly acclaimed by many consumers to relieve a wide range of ailments, from pain and anxiety to sleep disorders and opioid withdrawal symptoms.

The city’s first-of-its-kind shop, located at 77 River Street in Hiawassee, features an array of homeopathic products including tinctures, salves, powders, and serums in various potencies. Forehand explained that while federal law allows products to contain a maximum of 3 percent tetrahydrocannabinol – commonly known as THC, a psychoactive, “high” producing component found in marijuana – Natures Health and Body’s merchandise is 100% THC-free certified. The products are sourced solely from industrial hemp suppliers and lab-tested to ensure compliance, quality, and safety. The products are produced from hemp grown in the United States, Canada, Europe, or Australia, and have a fully traceable history of seed and strain, Forehand said.

“Our mission is the proliferation of information and education about hemp and what hemp extracts can give you and the world,” the owners-operators of Natures Health & Body state. “We accomplish our mission by only allowing legitimate, caring and passionate growers, processors, suppliers, and providers of hemp products to be offered to you. Our mission is basically around the fact that there are ‘good’ people and ‘bad’ people in the industry, and we will shield you from the bad ones. That is our promise. Keeping with our promise and our mission, our vendors and suppliers that come to Natures Health and Body want to help you as much as we do, first and foremost, and that is a fact.”

CBD oil distribution is federally-legal in all 50 U.S. states, with a maximum amount of 20 ounces permitted for personal possession in Georgia. Customers must be at least 18 years of age to purchase CBD products.

FYN contacted Hiawassee Police Chief Paul Smith to gain local law enforcement’s perspective on the city-based business. “I spoke with the shop owner,” Smith said. “He provided lab work that showed that the products have 0% THC. A prescription card is required for Low THC Oil, which is defined as ‘oil that contains an amount of cannabidiol and not more than 5 percent by weight of tetrahydrocannabinol, tetrahydrocannabinolic acid, or a combination of tetrahydrocannabinol and tetrahydrocannabinolic acid.'” Smith stated that Hiawassee Police Department “will not fine or arrest anyone in possession of a legal product.”

Forehand and Bateman encourages the public to visit the newly-opened location to learn about their holistic products and the hemp-industry as a whole.

Additional information on Natures Health and Body is available online.

Feature Image: Vicky Bateman and Randall Foreman, owners of Natures Health and Body.