Overland Park wellness store aims to normalize cannabis product for medicinal use

Owners of a new business in Overland Park aim to normalize a cannabis product for medicinal use.

Their wellness store, Phoenix Natural Wellness, opened recently and sells products with cannabidiol — a natural compound found in cannabis. Their products have trace amounts of THC, the chemical ingredient responsible for the high experienced during marijuana use.

But the owners say it is not enough to be detected on a drug test, and all of their products are tested first by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation or Drug Enforcement Administration.

“You quite literally would ingest more (THC) at a rock concert simply by breathing the air around you for 10 minutes,” Brian Pitts said.

The store, at 9627 W. 87th St., is co-owned by Susan and Brian Pitts and opened Saturday. The couple post regularly on their business Facebook page, listing a number of conditions that cannabidiol or CBD can treat, such as inflammation, joint pain and anxiety.

“Cannabis has had a negative connotation for so long because of the psychoactive properties from THC,” Brian Pitts said.

Some users of powders, oils and lotions made from CBD say ingesting it or rubbing it on the skin helps with pain and other medical conditions. Most of those claims haven’t been vetted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

“We’ve only been open a week and already have stories coming in from people who have been using it for all types of ailments,” Brian Pitts said.

In Leawood, at 5047 W. 117th St., a new organic hemp botanical business also recently opened, on Monday.

Owner Eric Banks said by phone that he relocated the business following flooding in the 103rd and Wornall area this past summer.

This story was originally published November 2, 2017 at 9:44 AM with the headline "Overland Park wellness store aims to normalize cannabis product for medicinal use."