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Listen in as Highline Wellness Co-Founder Chris Roth and WeWoreWhat's Danielle Bernstein talk all things CBD on the WeHeardWhat?! podcast.
On this episode of WeHeardWhat?! Chris and Danielle talk about the launch of Highline Wellness, how they met, and answer all your most common CBD questions.
Danielle:Hey, guys. What's up? Welcome back to We Heard What. I am here with a special guest today, Mr. Chris Roth, the CEO and co-founder of Highline Wellness, which is the CBD brand that I swear by.
Chris Roth:Thank you for having me, Danielle.
Danielle:Hey, Chris. All right. Chris has never done a podcast before, just FYI.
Chris Roth:First time.
Danielle:But let's start with how we met, which is through Mo, but exactly how we meet through Mo.
Chris Roth:Yes. Mo and I met probably three or four years ago, when you were a lot smaller than you are now, and you were one of the original influencers. Mo explained to me what you guys were doing and what she was doing working with you.
Danielle:They went on a date, guys. Let's [crosstalk 00:00:51]. Mo and Chris. He's being shy. They met at Riff Raff at 3:00 in the morning and then they went on a date and years later I think you reached out to Mo again, and you're like, "I think we're ready to work with someone like Danielle."
Chris Roth:Exactly. We were starting Highline Wellness, and I was familiar with what you were doing for the last couple years. Started following you when I met More. Always thought you were super talented and had a unique relationship with your followers. So I thought you would be a great fit to work with Highline Wellness.
Danielle:Yeah, and so Mo brought in the CBD, and I started using it, and I actually used it for a few weeks before we even had a conversation about working together, because I obviously like to test all the products I work with, and I wanted to make sure I liked it, and I think Mo one day came in and you were just like, "You've been really chill lately." I'm like, "Yeah, I guess I'm less anxious than I used to be, and I think a huge part that had to do with taking CBD." How did you get started in CBD with Howard Ramus?
Chris Roth:I spent the first six years of my career in finance, and the last three years of my career, I've been studying cannabis. I was introduced to CBD last year. I had never had anxiety in my life. I started getting anxiety a couple years moving to the city, couple years working in finance.
Danielle:Yeah, the city will do that to you.
Chris Roth:Absolutely. I found CBD to be a game changer for me where it fundamentally improved my quality of life. I came back to New York and started talking to my friends about it. Nobody knew what it was, and I was immediately fascinated with starting a business.
Danielle:Amazing. How do I explain to you what CBD exactly is?
Chris Roth:CBD is a compound found in the cannabis plant.
Danielle:So it's the cannabis plant, and then there's hemp, and THC, or how does it work?
Chris Roth:Exactly. The cannabis is the umbrella, and then under that umbrella you have marijuana, and you have hemp. Marijuana is high in THC, has trace amounts of CBD. Hemp is high in CBD, has trace amounts of THC.
Danielle:So then you can extract just the CBD from the hemp, is what we do here?
Chris Roth:Yes, exactly. There's different extraction methods. We use an ethanol extraction method, all natural, no chemicals, to extract the CBD oil from the hemp plant.
Danielle:And where is that done?
Chris Roth:Our two grow facilities are in Oregon and Kentucky, depending on the batch. After the grow facilities, it's sent to a manufacturing facility in Florida, where it's extracted, turned into a finished product. Then sent to a third party lab, which is important to ensure the potency and the quality of the product. When it's approved by the lab, it's then sent to us and we distribute to our ...
Danielle:Does it get packaged in the lab, or ...
Chris Roth:It gets packaged in the lab, yes. It's sent to us as a finished product to our fulfillment center in Florida.
Danielle:Got it. I feel like the biggest misconception with CBD, is people think they're going to get high from it. What do you say to these people?
Chris Roth:That's something that we deal with every day. We find it's really a game of education. Once someone tries it for the first time, they'll typically start with a very small dose. They'll realize that they don't feel messed up or intoxicated at all. Their behavior is not altered in any way. And then they're more prone to try bigger dosage and to really find the right amount that suits them.
Danielle:It's not the type of thing where you're going to take it and feel it a half hour later. I was taking it for days on end where you ... you don't really notice the difference. That's the thing. Until you're like, oh wait, I slept really well these past few days, or I've been less reactive than usual. That's when you realize, oh shit, I think this is due to the CBD.
Chris Roth:Yeah, we talk about that all the time.
Danielle:It's not like you immediately feel different.
Chris Roth:Yeah, you just notice that you're having better days. You're sleeping better at night. Taken in the morning, and it'll be 4:00 and you'll be like, hey, you know what? I had a pretty good day, I'm in a good mood, then you attribute it to the CBD. But it's very subtle.
Danielle:Are there any side effects?
Chris Roth:The FDA, in 2018, reviewed the very first drug who's main ingredient was CBD, and they explicitly recommended to the DEA to take it off the federal substance act because ...
Danielle:Which made CBD legal.
Chris Roth:Which made it legal on December 20, 2018. They told the DEA to legalize it because of it's very limited side effect profile, and very small potential for abuse.
Danielle:For abuse, right. That's another thing people say. Can you take too much? Can you?
Chris Roth:The studies that have been done, are massive doses, where they're talking about 600 milligrams per dose.
Danielle:What do I take every morning if I take a dropper?
Chris Roth:16 milligrams.
Danielle:It's not something you can OD on. It's not a drug.
Chris Roth:Nobody has ever died from cannabis, ever.
Danielle:Let's say, we have so many questions from my followers, so I just want to keep running through them. The benefits of CBD and how it helps you on a daily basis. We've talked about lower stress, lower anxiety, sleep better, what else can it do?
Chris Roth:Pain and inflammation.
Danielle:Which you have a cream for.
Chris Roth:Yes, exactly, but you can also take the oil, and see benefits from that as well. The truth is if you talk to 10 different people, how they benefit from CBD, you get 10 different answers. It almost sounds disingenuous to the consumer, potential buyer, because that's where you get like, "Oh, it's a snake oil, because it's this cure-all drug." It is linked to a ton of potential benefits. The most common ones are stress and anxiety, pain and inflammation, migraines and more.
Danielle:Is there a better time to take it, day versus night?
Chris Roth:Really it's personal choice. Just as many people take it in the morning as night. A lot of people are asking, does it make you groggy? The answer to that for me, it does not make me groggy. There are some people that ...
Danielle:It has ... I guess it does make ... it doesn't make you sleepy, but ...
Chris Roth:More relaxes your thoughts so that if you're going to bed, you don't a million thoughts running through your head. It's easier to relax, it's easier to fall asleep, [crosstalk 00:07:16]
Danielle:But I wouldn't say it makes you groggy at all.
Chris Roth:No, I take it in the morning and do not feel groggy at all.
Danielle:Me neither. It just makes my day better. But is there a best way to take it, because sometimes I put the oil directly under my tongue, sometimes I take the gummies, sometimes I put it in my coffee, which I know makes it less potent if it's in my coffee, but I put a little extra if I do that. Is there a best way to take it?
Chris Roth:The best and most pure way to take it is the oil. It's the best delivery mechanism that anyone can take. The gummies are just a different form factor of the oil. The gummies contain the oil in them, so it's really just preference, but I will say ...
Danielle:The gummies taste really good too.
Chris Roth:That doesn't hurt. The gummies are just a microdose. They are a smaller amount, where one full dropper of the oil is 16 milligrams, and one gummy is 10 milligrams.
Danielle:Got it. You have to take a few gummies if you're doing that instead. What distinguishes different CBD oils and what makes a good oil versus a bad oil?
Chris Roth:The most important dynamic in this discussion is whether it is isolate or full spectrum. Isolate is 99% pure CBD. That is typically much less effective than full or broad spectrum. Like we said, there's 100 different cannabinoids, and they're most effective, and CBD is most effective when those other cannabinoids are interacting and working together.
Danielle:So it's actually better if it's not just CBD.
Chris Roth:Correct you want the other cannabinoids like CBG, CBN, CBDV. They all have different properties and when it's something called the entourage effect, when they're all working together, that's when you get the best results.
Danielle:I'm going to get into some of my fan questions, because I got literally so many. One I got a lot was, do you have to 21 to buy or use CBD? Obviously I know the answer now since late August.
Chris Roth:This is a gray area, but it's 18.
Danielle:It is 18.
Chris Roth:It is 18.
Danielle:Oh, so there is an age, so you have to be 18 to buy or use CBD. That's good to know, because you know why that is?
Chris Roth:It's a gray area, and it's still a work in progress. If you talk to five young people, you get five different answers. 18 is the one that we try to abide by for legal reasons.
Danielle:A question I got for myself, is why are you using it? For me, the answer for that is that I have a lot of anxiety on a day-to-day basis, and I also have trouble sleeping, and I've noticed that this dramatically helps me. Also I have a lot of joint pain in my hands and elbows from the amount I use my phone, and from my travels, and so I've been using the cream on that and I've noticed that that really helps too. Another question we got was, what dosage do you recommend for someone with mild anxiety that wants to de-stress?
Chris Roth:Legally, we can't say, okay, you're dealing with this ...
Danielle:Right, because you're not a doctor.
Chris Roth:Exactly. But we do have a starting recommended dosage, which is 16 milligrams, which is one full dropper of our oil. We would recommend starting with that, seeing what you feel. If you feel that you need more ...
Danielle:How long would you take the full dropper for to see how you feel? A few weeks, or a just a week?
Chris Roth:I'd say five days, five to seven days.
Danielle:Cool. Is it okay for women who are pregnant or breastfeeding to use CBD?
Chris Roth:You have to consult a physician on that. I have people within my network that have consulted their physician, and are instructed to use the cream actually on their stomach, but I cannot say [crosstalk 00:10:52]
Danielle:Right. We're not doctors, so consult your doctor.
Chris Roth:Yes.
Danielle:Let's cover our asses here. Does CBD affect your exercising and energy levels? This was [inaudible 00:11:01] me, but I wanted to ask you too, and for me I say no, because I still work out and have the same energy that I usually have. But does it have an effect on that?
Chris Roth:People use it actually for benefits for working out and fitness, whether they're taking it pre-workout to loosen up through muscles, and get ready for the gym, or what's very common, is people using it as a post-workout recovery tool. Particularly with the cream.
Danielle:Yeah. Does it give you the munchies?
Chris Roth:No. The appetite booster in cannabis is actually THC. So CBD does not.
Danielle:Right, there's no THC, there's no weed in CBD. Just want everyone to understand that, because my friend Corey was here the other day, and I was like, "Do you want to have a dropper before you go," and she was like, "No, you know I have to have clients today, and I have to work," and I'm like, "This will help, it's not going to change you, it won't make you high." I think it's just such a misconception that CBD is a drug, and it's not. But I think just educating people on it is the most important thing.
Chris Roth:Absolutely.
Danielle:How do you travel with it? is a question we got. I travel just with the bottle.
Chris Roth:Same here. Domestically, you should not have any issues at all. In December 20, 2018, it was made completely legal. It's no longer a level one substance. Internationally, depending on what countries you go to, they could have different laws.
Danielle:I went to Paris with it, didn't get questioned.
Chris Roth:Absolutely. For legal reasons I want to be conservative, but I have traveled to other countries with it, and they've checked my bag, and have never had it [crosstalk 00:12:38]
Danielle:Yeah, the size of it, as far as traveling with a liquid is completely compliant. What are the benefits of taking it orally versus topically?
Chris Roth:It really depends what you are looking for in terms of relief. I would say if it is stress and anxiety, that would be oil or the gummies are probably your best bet. If you have physical pain, whether you go to the gym, and you do arms that day, and your arms are sore, if you apply the cream directly on your biceps and your triceps, you will feel relief. It's super fast.
Danielle:I put it on my neck before I go to sleep, and it really helps the neck pain also. Will I pass a drug test if I'm taking CBD?
Chris Roth:Yes. Drug tests test for THC, which you will not register for by taking our product.
Danielle:When do you start noticing a difference? That's certainly so personal, right?
Chris Roth:Everyone's different. If you look at our reviews, a lot of people have wrote that they feel the effects right away. Some other people, like your point, it takes two weeks to define the product and to then realize retroactively like, "Wow, I've been feeling a lot better," and then attribute it to CBD.
Danielle:For sure, because it just became really a natural part of my routine. I take some probiotics in the morning, I take my hair growth pills, and then I take a CBD dropper, and so it just became part of my routine, so I didn't think, I'm taking this tonight, am I going to feel it later, like it just naturally happened. Someone asked what it tastes like? Currently, this one tastes minty, but there will be one coming out that's not minty.
Chris Roth:Yes, absolutely. We'll have a natural flavored oil coming out shortly.
Danielle:And I kind of tastes like olive oil, right, that one, -ish, or not?
Chris Roth:Sort of. It tastes earthy. You can taste the plant.
Danielle:It's not a bad taste at all. I actually very much enjoy the minty one, and I think it tastes really good in coffee.
Chris Roth:I agree, I agree.
Danielle:How much is too much, we said not really, it's not really an issue.
Chris Roth:Yeah, it's not really an issue, especially with the dosage that we're recommending.
Danielle:Can you smoke the oils? Is that possible?
Chris Roth:Yeah, you can actually vape CBD.
Danielle:Is a vape pen in the future for Highline Wellness?
Chris Roth:We go back and forth with that. We do find just based on other reviews online, people do find it to be effective. If we find that our customer base would like a vape, we'll absolutely incorporate one, so if you want one, let us know.
Danielle:Totally. Then other products that you can come out with. I know there's a lot of skin care that includes CBD. What are your thoughts on that?
Chris Roth:Yeah, I think that's a really exciting space, and I think that's one of the reasons that we're so enticed with working with you, because my co-founder and I are both men, and a majority of our customers are women. So we're excited to work with you ...
Danielle:You need a woman on the team.
Chris Roth:Exactly, to lead the woman vision and to ...
Danielle:And also I can ask my followers, what do you guys want to see CBD in? A cream, a face thing, a roll-on bomb, or whatever it may be. I feel like it'd really good in Chapstick.
Chris Roth:They have that.
Danielle:They have it? You have to have that. So where does Highline source it's CBD? Just so everyone knows.
Chris Roth:Depending on the batch, it's sourced from Kentucky or Oregon. Both grow facilities are regulated by the Department of Agriculture, which means there's process control, there's quality control enforced. After the growth facility, it's send to a manufacturing facility in Florida where it's extracted, using only CO2, which is all natural. There's no chemicals and there's no pesticides. After the manufacturing facility, it's sent to a third party lab, which tests it for potency and quality. Once it passed those tests, it is sent to our fulfillment center as a finished product and distributed online.
Danielle:What makes Highline Wellness better than the other CBD brands out there? As far as product.
Chris Roth:I would say the first thing is quality, where we test it, dozens of manufacturers and dozens of products for months while we were creating Highline, and we thought we found the best option, where it did not have THC, but you could feel the effects and the potency and the quality was there. I think one thing that separates us is that for each product that you're about to purchase online, you can see that unique product's lab results on the website. So you can see exactly what you're ingesting, exactly what you're purchasing, so there's really no room for a gray area. NBC New York did a investigative report about two weeks ago, where they bought six different brands from a [crosstalk 00:17:31]
Danielle:Was Highline one of them?
Chris Roth:We're not one of them, unfortunately. But their studies found that one of them had lead in it, the other had a dangerous pesticide in it, and only one brand had the actual CBD amount and potency, as they were advertising. So it's super important to get lab results and super important for the consumer to know exactly what they're purchasing.
Danielle:So this shit is legit. [inaudible 00:18:01] is really scary. Where do you see this industry heading and what do you think is next? For example, like the legalization of marijuana?
Chris Roth:I think in terms of where we are in the process, I think we're first inning in terms of cannabis being accepted broadly. I think that CBD is leading the way for THC, and that over time everyone will know somebody that relies on CBD to feel better.
Danielle:That brings up a good point, because you say relies on CBD. Going to be people said to me, what if I'm taking CBD for a while, and then I come off of it? Will I be more anxious, and that's not true, right?
Chris Roth:In my opinion, I don't think that you'll be more anxious than what you originally felt.
Danielle:Will you become reliant on it?
Chris Roth:Less so than pharmaceutical drugs. I think that it's an all natural compound, an all natural product, and the side effects [crosstalk 00:19:08]
Danielle:There's no addictive traits to it.
Chris Roth:No, no. There are not.
Danielle:Cool. I feel like, is there anything else we should know about CBD that you feel like there's a big misconception about?
Chris Roth:Just that it's not all made the same, and as a consumer, it's super important to do your homework, and to do your research, and to rely on other people that have tried products and word of mouth is extremely important with finding the right brand and finding the right dosage for you.
Danielle:That's why I've been getting behind Highline Wellness because I love how much research and the lab and the actual technical stuff that goes behind it. Making it an all-natural product. If you guys have any more questions, you can DM me, or Highline Wellness, and you can purchase the CBD at Highlinewellness.com. Anything else?
Chris Roth:That's it. Thank you very much for having me.
Danielle:Thank you guys, bye.
