I couldn’t be more in the middle of the road when it comes to my belief in the almighty miracle that is cannabidiol. I’m nowhere even close to haters who claim the booming hysteria around CBD products is one giant placebo effect; I know far too many people of honest repute who say they have benefited from some kind of hardly psychedelic cannabis solution or another. On the other hand, it isn’t easy listening to and watching proper members of society, who recently derided potheads and put teenagers in rehab for smoking joints, now rejoice in the good graces of ganja.

Don’t worry, I’m not going to hit you over the head with another tale about some aunt or uncle who was wracked with a debilitating disorder and spiraling downward until they started to use [insert any brand that some pathetic celebrity dick who did nothing to fight prohibition is now pushing]. It’s not that such stories are all complete and total bullshit; rather, the problem is that they are often told in service of a shameless money grab.

In any case, while we don’t typically respond to publicists around here unless they are offering something that gets us high, rich, or drunk, I was nevertheless enticed by an email that came in from the Daddy Burt Hemp Co. a few months ago. I’m not much of a CBD guy—frankly, I think I have destroyed my body far beyond the point where anything short of a pair of defibrillator paddles can impact my chemistry—but the media relations person wasn’t pushy, and offered to send over a few samples. So there is my disclaimer—I didn’t pay for any of this stuff, though I would and likely will in the future. It’s actually that impressive.

First, the chewables. They look a little gross, sort of like chewed gum under a desk, or a child’s soft candy after it’s been sweating in the car for a few days. But looks can be deceiving, and the 30 count of naturally flavored strawberry-kiwi vitamins Daddy Burt sent were delicious. I could munch them one after the other, though they recommend just two to three a day. As for their effect on me, like I said, my body’s too polluted to tell, but I did replace my regular once-daily dosage of preemptive Advil with these, and I didn’t seem to have any more or less headaches, or really any headaches at all.

And then there is its CBD oil, of which I had the standard strength full-spectrum variety, which sells for $74.95 for a 30-day supply (other options are available as well). I know that CBD is harmless, but I’m addicted to the mild minty numbness that this tincture spreads from underneath my tongue all back throughout my throat, and eventually into my head and lungs, a full-body effect that I can actually feel, the physical version of the visualization of meds going down someone’s throat in a daytime commercial. Am I saying that this stuff made me a bit of a believer? Sure, I’ll go that far. 

As for Daddy Burt himself, there’s something of a backstory, which I’m not sure is real or pure marketing fodder. I don’t care either way, though, just like I have never picked a restaurant because the sign out front claims that it was established some number of years ago. I do know that it’s a Kentucky operation, and that seems to be the hottest of all spots for CBD development. As Bob Fireman, a major East Coast cannabis investor with the firm MariMed who just invested big time in Kentucky CBD, told DigBoston earlier this year, University of Kentucky researchers “were the original genetic growers for Charlotte’s Web [cannabinoid oil and hemp products]. As we looked around the country, this was the best quality that we saw in the United States.”

If you’re going to be known for something, this isn’t a bad trend to monger. And in its effort, Daddy Burt, much like the state where it is manufactured and the legendary hemp farmer the brand is named for, seems to be ahead of the cannabidiol curve.