WEST COLUMBIA, S.C. — A new artisan manufacturing CBD business is coming to West Columbia.
The West Columbia Zoning Board of Appeals approved zoning of the business at their Tuesday night meeting.
The company, Veterans Botanical Group, will soon be producing and selling CBD products.
Cannabidiol (CBD) is a chemical in the Cannabis sativa plant, also known as cannabis or hemp.
Johnny Thorne, managing member of the group says, "We want to respect the law, we want to be good people and we want to add to the community of West Columbia."
Thorne went on to clarify, "This is not marijuana, this is hemp." Saying, "What we are wanting to do is to create artisan CBD and hemp botanical products."
Thorne says CBD products have helped him in the past and he wants to share the therapeutic benefits with others.
"A lot of us that own this business have been helped by using different homeopathic remedies. So its important to us to have a quality South Carolina product people can count on."
The difference between this store and other CBD stores in the area is that all products will be made in house.
"Most of these stores have a product they are selling, they buy wholesale and sell retail. We will do the making of it in house and will have quality control over own product in our own facility and sold by own people," said Thorne.
There were questions over safety, with one board member saying, "There are many who would say that this particular use would be a detractor from the overlay district based on the controversy that surrounds hemp and CBD, how would you answer those people?"
Thorne followed up with, "Our target is people with back pain, people who have inflammation in their joints, people that have headaches, it can certainly be abused, we will not run a place that fosters the environment of abuse."
The board voted unanimously to approve the business which will be located at 735 Meeting Street, former home of the Comedy Closet.
Under the agreement there will be no flashing lights in front of the business, no vape related advertising or any displays of cannabis plants.\