We came back to EarthX after checking out from the hotel, getting there around 11:30.
Since we already spoke to all the booths yesterday and didn’t have time to go to any more films, today’s purpose was mostly taking pictures and skimming over the whole convention to make sure we didn’t miss anything interesting. We were about to leave when we remembered that we hadn’t been to a far corner of one of the massive buildings that held half the booths. That particular corner used the hemp booths and we were all interested as we seemed to all have the base knowledge that hemp has been demonized for being related to weed despite having a very low THC content and being an incredible textile and building material. We were interested in learning more about why such a useful material was villanized so we headed to the Centennial building.
Sections dedicated to particular topics were curtained off and hemp was no different. We passed through the heavy, blue curtains and were greeting by around twenty to thirty booths in a rectangular formation, most of which seemed to be selling health products. Lotion, soap, sprays, etc. Our first few interactions with tables were inconsequential. Then we met Pebble.
Pebble is a company that provides CBD supplements in the form of pills as well as oil droplets. Walking up to their booth, we saw a man standing at a small table with a large blue poster behind him proclaiming the name of the company as well as a myriad of illnesses and disorders accompanied by blurbs from customers about how Pebble had cured them.
Chase W. - Epilepsy
“I am no longer lethargic, tired, and moody all the time. It has really made a difference in my seizure free life.”
Etc. We approached the man, unfortunately not receiving his name, and looked at the four small boxes on his table as he began to tell us about his product. We were asked if we had ever tried CBD and I said no. The man said it was good for a myriad of things including migraines, neurological conditions, chronic pain, and do we have any of those? I admitted my anxiety, ADD, and chronic migraines and he launched into how their pills could help me. I asked how it helps chronic pain and he stated that the CBD binds to CB1 and CB2 receptors that are sent out to the area of the body where the pain is being experienced. I remembered hearing something very similar in my AP Psychology class senior year of high school so I asked if it was similar to substance P and he admitted that he wasn’t sure about the finer workings of neurochemistry but that it did work on epilepsy by fixing the neurons that were misfiring. He finished his spiel by asking if we wanted to try a free sample, offering up a bottle. We all declined and would discuss later how odd we found it that he would, firstly, offer us CBD without asking if we were on any prior medications that could be affected, secondly, that he didn’t know if my companions suffered from any of those problems and, thirdly, that he was offering us an oral suppository without any discussion of the ingredients or their dosages. The dosage turned out to be 750 mg per pill. I jokingly said that this pill seemed to be a cure-all, curious to his response, as he had just been telling us that it was good for bi-polar disorder, anxiety, autism, chronic pain, Parkinson's, and so on. He made a slight face, saying that while it wasn’t a cure-all, it was good for a long list of issues. We thanked him and moved along but as we were leaving the hemp pavilion, more and more questions were coming to my mind so we ended up returning.
I am currently enrolled in a class called Chemistry of Food and in that moment I was hearing my professors words reverberating in my head about how supplements aren’t regulated by the FDA and how they are rarely properly tested before hitting the market. I had to probe him about this. I approached him again while my friends headed towards another booth.
I first asked about the labs that had tested the oil, reading off their pamphlet that it was third party tested for purity and potency and that it met and exceeds all state testing requirements. Re-reading that statement as I type this, I wonder which state’s testing requirements that was referring to. Nonetheless, he replied that the company rotates through three labs in order to prevent bias. I asked for the names of the labs and he replied with Canna Labs in California and Rica Chemical in Texas. As I write this, I am hesitant about the lack of bias in this testing, considering the name of one of the research centers is Canna Labs, however, I cannot make any claims opposing Pebble as I have not done any further research.
I additionally inquired as to their claim that there are no solvents in their product and was admittedly a bit confused by his response as he gave me the ingredient list - MCT from coconuts, hemp extract, peppermint oil extract, and ginger extract - as well as explaining that they extract their hemp oil by using CO2 and, in newer batches, ethanol, never using butane.
I went on to ask about how it helped autism, as I find that products claiming to cure autism are usually those that warrant the most suspicion. He explained that it mostly “attacked the social anxiety” and how in testing they had had kids who were nonverbal begin to speak and those who were low verbal and spoke one word at a time began to make sentences. He said that kids who usually stimmed were relying on it less and that even teachers who weren’t involved or knowledgeable that their students were participating in this study were blown away by how well the kids were behaving and that they weren’t “biting, kicking, screaming” anymore. I was a bit disappointed by how anecdotal the evidence was.
As we were ending our conversation, he stated that Pebble’s product wasn’t for those who just wanted to experiment with CBD, it “was meant to fix things.” I thanked him and ended on one final question, where could I find the studies that had been done on the products? Could I find them online? He responded, “Not yet, we’re almost done with them but you’ll be able to soon!”
I returned to my friends, glad I hadn’t accepted the free sample despite my brewing migraine.
We headed back to the car after this, where I am typing this up as we begin the three hour drive back to Georgetown. Overall, I am extremely pleased with our experience at EarthX and I am very grateful to Southwestern’s Mosaic for giving us the opportunity to go. I’m glad that the convention was not an international gathering of greenwashing as we had feared. While we had come at it with a highly critical eye, the vast majority of the companies we spoke to seemed legitimate and genuinely dedicated to the bettering of the planet. I’m finishing this diary entry feeling hopeful for the future.
-Nicole
