Jessica Bernardo trained as a massage therapist where she learned about essential oils and aroma therapy, among other things. “There have always been entrepreneurs in my family,” she says, “and I have always wanted to start my own business. I was already making bath bombs at home using cannabis oil and decided to package them since everyone loved them, and they were effective.”

Bernardo started with products containing THC (THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, being the psychoactive component of cannabis), but with the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill, which legalized industrial hemp with less than 0.3% THC content, she transitioned into cannabidiol, commonly referred to as CBD, which is sourced from industrial hemp. Bernardo sources her CBD directly from Mile High Labs in Colorado, who provides a Certificate of Analysis ensuring purity of the ingredient.

As we have been noting in previous articles on this subject, the CBD market is growing rapidly—700% in 2019 according to research from the Brightfield Group—but with lack of sufficient regulation, it can be the Wild West, and consumers need to be careful about what they buy and use.