While Santa Barbara and other California municipalities figure out how to regulate the THC side of the recreational cannabis business, the nationwide market for products infused with CBD — or cannabidiol, a cannabinoid that science is showing to be beneficial in myriad ways, without getting you high — is growing like crazy. There are teas, treats, and vapor cartridges loaded with CBD, but one of the strongest segments is skincare, as the oils infuse well into lotions, salves, and so forth.
Mender is one Central Coast company exploring that realm. It was recently launched in San Luis Obispo by April Worley, a former wine branding expert who is using what she learned in that industry to raise the profile of cannabis.
How did you come to work on CBD products? When my son was 3, I started grad school at Cal Poly, where I studied political science and earned a master’s degree. But upon graduation, I realized after a series of fruitless job interviews that bureaucratic structures were not for me — this was not my tribe, I could feel it, and they could, too.