Visitors to a CBD Wellness store might feel as though they’ve entered a waiting area for a stylish spa instead of a retail shop. There are no floor-to-ceiling shelves bulging with products. There are no carts or shopping baskets and no clearance racks with ads screaming for attention. Instead, tasteful, soothing decor and an open floorplan greet customers who immediately feel at ease in what they might have expected to be a more overwhelming encounter.
“I don’t want my employees sounding like salespeople,” says founder Anthony Tran. “They are there to educate.”
It’s one thing that makes CBD Wellness different than typical retail stores and even different from most others selling products, as Anthony does, that are derived from marijuana, or cannabis.
Products at CBD Wellness include sublingual oils (for placing a drop under your tongue), topicals like lotions and salves, edibles including gummies, vaping cartridges, coffee and tea, products for the bath and even some for pets.
According to the well-researched CBD Wellness website, CBD and THC are among the compounds, known as cannabinoids, in the cannabis plant. THC, the most active ingredient in marijuana, creates a mind-altering "high" when a person smokes it or uses it in cooking. CBD is not psychoactive and does not change a person's state of mind when they use it. However, CBD does appear to produce significant changes in the body, and some research suggests that it has medical benefits. All products sold by CBD Wellness contain less than 0.3% THC and are legal in all 50 states.
Anthony explains that, although the products do not require a prescription, customers should consult with a doctor before using CBD or other dietary supplements.
Anthony’s exploration of CBD all started with his left knee.
“I was in Vegas, and I went into a CDB store,” he says.
He was seeking relief from a painful left knee that has no cartilage.
“They didn’t really explain anything,” he says. “I told the salesgirl why I was interested in the product, and she just said, ‘Here, take this.’ She didn’t explain anything. There was no math. There was no [explanation about] how to progress a dose. I thought it was a scam. I felt nothing.”
With managerial experience in the health and fitness and manufacturing fields, Anthony’s curious nature led him to dig deeper into the science of using CBD as a pain killer and of finding each person’s optimal dose.
“I started taking a lot more than [the salesgirl] told me, and I felt relief,” he says.
Anthony opened his own store so people interested in CBD would not have the negative experience he first had.
“I wanted to share it with the world, the education part,” he says.
Anthony now has six stores, including five in the DMV and one in Georgia. At each, employees offer plenty of free advice, answers and explanations in a no-pressure environment. Anthony carries several brands, including his own proprietary brand, VC Naturalz, which is manufactured in Virginia.
Three of the many ways to use CBD products:
- VC Naturalz Drop It On Full-Spectrum CBD Oil – Distilled several times to achieve a clean taste, this refined product has a well-balanced profile.
- VC Naturalz Full-Spectrum Pain Salve – Formulated for pain and inflammation in joints and muscles, this topical product is also effective for bug bites, sunburn and more.
- VC Naturalz Chew On It Gummy Squares – Considered a gourmet gummy, customers love this product’s unusual taste and texture and its healing, calming and restorative properties.