Local vapor chain expanding into CBD business with new store

The owners of local Vapor Haus are launching their first of several CBD-dedicated shops in the area.

CBD Haus, which sells gummies, capsules, oil, lip balm, face serum, drinks and topicals containing cannabidiol, commonly known as CBD, opened Monday at 619 Watervliet Ave. in Dayton. The store is the first of a handful owners Chris Voudris and Scott Pendley plan to open in the upcoming years, including a second location set to open in Kettering’s Fairmont Plaza in about 90 days, Voudris told the Dayton Daily News.

“CBD Haus is all about educating consumers about wellness products,” he said. “We wanted to create an atmosphere that everybody felt like they were at home and can ask questions.”

The store’s three employees have all researched CBD products and come to know their health benefits personally, Voudris said. They said they’ll take the time with each customer to make sure they fully understand all of the products they’re buying and how to properly use them.

“We’re really focused on the educational part of CBD. There’s lots of places you can buy CBD but I don’t think the customer is really doing themselves any justice without having a proper knowledge behind the purchase they’re making because there’s different types of CBD and it affects people in different ways,” Pendley said.

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Those who use the hemp-derived chemical have found benefits for ailments ranging from arthritis to anxiety, Voudris said. It’s also been known to help users sleep better and have a healthier immune system, and to control pain in pets, he said.

One of the stores employees Austin Odell, now 24, began getting interested in CBD as a high school freshman when he watched the transformation of a young boy with epilepsy who used CBD as a medication on the Discovery Channel’s show Weed Wars.

Odell uses a type of CBD oil every morning and night and uses CBD vapables throughout the day to treat his ADHD and accompanying anxiety, he said.

“It balances out your endocannabinoid system, which is a system in your body related to the immune system,” Voudris said. “So the key is to balance out that immune system.”

The monthslong build out is coming to fruition now because the law is becoming more clear, Voudris said. The 2018 Farm Bill made CBD federally legal and Gov. Mike DeWine gave the go ahead in late July to sell CBD in Ohio as long as it contains less than 0.3 percent THC, the psychoactive ingredient in cannabis.

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“We don’t want to sell products with THC because there’s a lot of people that cannot jeopardize their jobs over that risk,” Voudris said. “These products will not get you high.”

The CBD market is expected to explode in the upcoming years, with sales poised to surpass $20 billion by 2024, according to a report from BDS Analytics and Arcview Market Research.

Colleges like Central State University are already planning to research hemp and farmers are looking at the crop to diversify and optimize operations.

“This is an incredible opportunity for our farmers to help diversify their crops by allowing them to grow legal hemp,” state Sen. Steve Huffman, R-Tipp City, said when the bill to legalize hemp cultivation and CBD sales was signed. “I am excited to see how this new law will benefit the agriculture industry as well as consumers in the years to come.”

The average age of a CBD user is 40, according to the study. They also have higher education levels and are more likely to have full-time jobs than people who don’t use CBD. There is no current age regulation for buying CBD products, and Voudris said stores will welcome all customers.

There will be a grand opening at the store Sept. 20 with giveaways. The store is open 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.

“The thing I’m most looking forward to is people coming in and finding relief for something that they haven’t been able to find relief for until this point,” Odell said. “They’ve tried everything else under the sun…but then they try this natural plant and it completely changes everything.”

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