Former, current cop team up to open Columbus CBD store promoting ‘health without the high’
Chace Webb and Josh Duckworth hope to set the record straight about CBD products by educating customers around Columbus through their new business venture.
The two always had dreamed of opening a store. After seeing how CBD products helped the son of a mutual friend who suffered from seizures, they decided to open a shop in Columbus at 6201 Veterans Parkway.
Webb and Duckworth started their store, franchised through CBD American Shaman, to help educate the community about the positive effects of the products — and combat the stigma often associated with them.
“Our main goal here is to provide a comforting, warm, welcoming space, where you can not only get high-quality products, but you can also get high-quality education about the products,” Webb said.
Serving the community in a new way
Webb and Duckworth possess more than 20 years of combined experience as officers for the Columbus Police Department. Webb still serves as an officer.
They’d known each other for a few years before joining the police force, and normally worked on the same shift.
“We went from being police officers to firemen,” Webb said, laughing. “Because owning a business is just putting out fires over and over again.”
The COVID-19 pandemic increased the stress of opening a new business. Issues acquiring a business license were aplenty, since COVID-19 shut many offices in the city government. Purchasing supplies to build the interior was another challenge, since supply lines were “destroyed” by the virus, Webb said.
“This is our baby that we’ve got to, literally, build with our own hands,” Webb said.
Most of the interior is hand-built, from the oak counter-top to the shelves on the wall near the front desk. Even the wooden backsplash and the doors that lead to the back of the shop were built by hand.
The two share plenty of memories from their police days, but look forward to helping others as much as they can through CBD American Shaman.
“We’re more excited now about the great stories we’re going to make here,” Webb said. “Our best stories now are when we see someone come back in the store and tell us just how much this product has helped them.”
Fighting the stigma
CBD American Shaman Columbus offers free samples so customers “don’t have to take our word for it,” Webb said.
The shop’s most popular product are the gummies. The duo also partnered with Omaha Brewing Company to sell the brewery’s CBD-infused sparkling water, Traveller.
The shop also offers free consultation to customers.
“If you don’t know anything about CBD, you can come in here, and we’re both certified to explain it and break it down for everybody,” Webb said.
Taking CBD oil does not make the user get high. The oils are derived from hemp, a cannabis plant.
Hemp contains small amounts of THC, the element of marijuana that gets users high. Because marijuana also falls under cannabis, Webb says a stigma surrounds CBD.
“Because those two plants are so similar, there is a bad stigma, and that’s what we’re fighting against,” Webb said. “We want people to understand, ‘Hey, this is CBD health, without the high.’”
The store is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m.-7 p.m. and closed on Sundays.
This story was originally published September 16, 2020 at 6:50 AM.
