The folks at Vancouver’s CannaMan Farms are working on a new high CBD strain, something eagerly awaited by many local customers.

CBD is used on the medical marijuana side as a pain medication, anti-inflammatory and anti-anxiety drug, among other things.

(Note: With the federal status of the drug, there haven’t been many studies to confirm or deny the drug’s potential in those areas)(Sub-note: My boss says we, as a paper, have to be very careful not to make any medical claims about marijuana).

CBD also doesn’t cause the euphoric high that THC does.

The strain that Shane Wahl, head grower at CannaMan, is cultivating is called Wilber. It’s a relative of the Charlotte’s Web strain that has been used to treat epileptics – causing some families of children with epileptics to move to Colorado for treatment.

“Wilber is one of the hybridizations of Charlotte’s Web, which came out of Colorado,” Wahl said. “I actually got the seeds as a gift and brought them into (the I-502 sector) when we started.”

The plants have long skinny leaves and look like a sativa, the same species as Charlotte’s Web, but Wahl said he’s not certain whether Wilber is more sativa or indica dominant. He’ll know more after the lab test results come in, he added.

Brian Stroh, owner of CannaMan, said he thinks the strain will net CBD percentages “in the teens.” The highest levels in Vancouver stores so far for other strains has been about 2 to 3 percent CBD.

Stroh said he thinks the company will have the strain in stores sometime in late November.

He also said stores have been a bit less enthusiastic about high CBD strains, instead favoring high THC strains – the types that get people high.

But CannaMan customers, especially those that want to try the drug for pain relief, have continued to ask the company for high CBD strains, Stroh said.

“The people are waiting for it, but not the stores,” Stroh said. “Unless it’s high THC the stores aren’t really interested.”

That said, I know the folks at New Vansterdam are planning on stocking it. And they’ve also heard from customers that want the product.

Are you interested in trying Wilber? What have you heard about CBD? Let me know in the comments section!

Cheers,
-SueVo (sue.vorenberg@columbian.com)