BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – Before legal cannabis hit store shelves a year ago this week a similar product had been gaining popularity in the legal marketplace.
CBD is one of many compounds derived from cannabis that doesn’t produce the same psychoactive effect as THC. Despite the legal market for cannabis in Vermont, customers are still seeking CBD.
Vermont Pure CBD in Vergennes is adapting. Seth Lapidow says his team jumped on the CBD train during the so-called “CBD Gold Rush” at the end of the decade, where out-of-state funding helped boost the industry in Vermont. He has customers buying his product in person and online and says retail cannabis has not impacted his business.
“We have a customer niche of people looking for CBD, not forgive for the myriad health benefits that they believe the plant yields,” said Lapidow.
Lapidow says his biggest competitor is the CBD that’s mass-produced at a low price and sold in stores like gas stations. As for joining the recreational cannabis market, Lapidow says issues with tax write-offs keep them away.
“Until it’s federally legal, we have no interest in being in the marijuana business,” said Lapidow.
Not every CBD retailer feels the same. Zenbarn Farms in Waterbury began selling CBD in 2020 and expanded to retail cannabis in November.
Co-founder Marlena Tucker Fishman says they kept their CBD store in the front, and then you show your ID and move to the separate cannabis section if you’re interested. She says it’s a…
