October 11, 2018
By: Dwayne Page
A Liberty farmer has begun production of CBD oils made from hemp plants.
CBD, short for cannabidiol, is a compound found in the flower of hemp that is thought to be effective in treating medical problems, such as epileptic seizures, anxiety, pain, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
David Lunsford grew and harvested about two acres of hemp on his 25 acre farm this year and then processed it to manufacture the CBD oils. Unlike marijuana, a hemp grow operation is legal as long as the growers meet the conditions for a permit by the state department of agriculture. The CBD oil products are also approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration.
“I started in April. I built a processing facility and got it up and running. I have been in production of CBD oil products since July,” said Lunsford.
“The reason why I got involved is I discovered through personal experience that it was really helping people. My 84 year old father found a lot of relief in his joint pain by using it and my sister was able to get off opioids by using it for pain. I take it myself now. It has done wonders for my arthritis pain,” said Lunsford.
The oils are made from high-CBD, low-THC hemp, unlike medical marijuana products, which are usually made from plants with high concentrations of psychoactive tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Because hemp contains only trace amounts of THC, these hemp oil products are non-psychoactive
“The federal government made it legal for us to get involved in this research program for the sake of agriculture and we work with the Tennessee Department of Agriculture. We have permits to grow and process it through the state. They (state) came out before harvest and tested our plants to make sure they were all within the 0.3% or below in THC content. If it had been higher it would have been classified marijuana and they would have cut it down and burned it,” said Lunsford.
“We use an ethanol extraction process where we grind up the hemp and mix it with ethanol and then soak it. We then press it out like you would press out wine grapes. We use a rotary evaporator to evaporate all the ethanol out which purifies it. It’s a good quality product. The people who have used it found that they have gotten very good results from it,” said Lunsford.
To learn more about CBD oils or to order them on-line visit www.lunsfordfamilyfarm.com.
Lunsford will also have his CBD oil products for sale at the DeKalb County Farmers Market in Smithville on Saturday, October 13 from 8 a.m. until noon