RootsCBD is a family-owned business that operates a cannabis farm in Williams, Oregon, a retail store in Jacksonville Beach, Florida, and an online shop at RootsCBDshop.com. All of their products contain less than .3% THC, with high CBD content. 

What led you to cannabis farming? 

Our story is pretty simple. Even though my husband owned a bike shop for 20 years, he lived and worked on many farms in Oregon and Ohio, and he always had a green thumb. I was a schoolteacher for 20 years and always lived a pretty simple and resourceful life, but I found it hard to fully embrace working outside the home.  

I became really sick about six years ago, with rheumatoid arthritis, and finally had to quit teaching about two years ago. We decided to buy a farm and stop putting all of our energy into other people’s projects.    

 How did your Jacksonville Beach store come about? 

 Our store happened by accident when we spent winter in Florida last year and realized cannabis really wasn't in Florida yet, like it is in Oregon. As cannabis growers, we realized that we had a unique opportunity to create an Oregon-farm-to-Florida-table experience. We decided to open the store this past April, and I spent the summer getting it set up.  

What makes your farm ideal for growing healthy cannabis? 

 Our farm is 100 percent off-grid and run by solar power. We grow everything organically and will be licensed as an organic farm as soon as we own it for a few years, since licensure takes time. But all of our practices are GMO- and pesticide-free. We have a small farm compared to a lot of operations, which is a huge benefit to getting high-quality flower, with no mold and no seeds. It has been a rough season for many bigger farms Our because of the weather; mold and seeding are happening a lot this year, so be cautious out there in the market.  

What is your cannabis farming process? 

 We plant in June, and harvesting begins three months later and runs through part of October. Once we harvest the plants, we hang them in containers and dry by wood heat. Then we take the big flowers off and trim them down. The rest is sold as biomass, which people make into oil or other products. We will sell the flower in our store and make oils for our tinctures. We may also start making our own lotions this year.  

  Does your “know your grower” setup improve your CBD’s quality? 

 Absolutely. Having gone through the harvest process, I understand how important it is to really know where your cannabis products come from. It is super easy for things to be skipped or missed. Mold, for example, is toxic for your body and could easily be mixed into an oil or smoked in the flower. Not all CBD is tested for pesticides, and it should be. If we offer product in our store that comes from a grower other than ourselves, we use only companies that are located in Oregon and use the same farming practices that we do. We know everyone personally, so you can trust you’re getting good, clean products.  

 This is our first season growing our own CBD, so we decided to keep it simple and grow only four strains: Dog Lifter, Lifter, Siskiyou Gold and Cherry Wine. Each strain is unique, so I encourage people to try everything and see what you like. Also, everyone experiences each strain differently, because our own cannabinoid systems are all different; plus, we are all at different places with stress. The best thing is to do your research. At our store, we know that knowledge is important, and reliable, informative customer service is a top priority. 

Store location: 524 3rd St. South, Jacksonville Beach. For more information, call 904-420-7550 or visit RootsCBDshop.com.