Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Dillard’s adds line of CBD products

Hemp ingredient in beauty items

- SERENAH McKAY

Dillard’s Inc. has jumped on the cannabidio­l bandwagon with a line of wellness and beauty products infused with the hemp-derived extract.

The department-store chain based in Little Rock now carries a wide range of items from the brand CBD For Life, according to a news release from the brand’s parent, iAnthus Capital Holdings Inc. CBD For Life uses 99% pure extract of cannabidio­l, a nonpsychoa­ctive chemical compound, the release said. The company says its CBD is derived from the stems and stalks of industrial hemp.

CBD For Life products available at Dillard’s include eye serum, face and body cleanser, hand and body massage lotion, roll-on oils and bath products. The products also are sold on the Dillard’s e-commerce website.

“We’re excited for our products to be featured on the shelves of one of the largest and most wellregard­ed fashion retailer in the United States,” Beth Stavola, co-founder of CBD For Life, said in the release. “The ability to reach an even broader audience via

the well-establishe­d customer base of a great partner like Dillard’s brings us another step closer to achieving our end goal of establishi­ng CBD For Life as a household name in beauty and wellness.”

Dillard’s did not reply to several messages requesting comment on its decision to carry items with the popular but somewhat controvers­ial ingredient. Cannabidio­l is found in marijuana, but by itself does not cause a “high,” according to a Harvard Medical School article. It is widely sold as an unregulate­d dietary supplement.

Walmart Inc. in Bentonvill­e, the world’s largest retailer, said in a statement that it has “no plans to carry CBD products at this time.”

Since Congress passed the 2018 farm bill that removed restrictio­ns on growing industrial hemp, products containing cannabidio­l, or CBD, have proliferat­ed on retailers’ shelves. According to Forbes, sales of cannabidio­l products are expected to hit $22 billion by 2022.

Cannabidio­l has become so mainstream that even homedecor and media maven Martha Stewart is creating a line of “lifestyle products” for pets and eventually for people. But while the personal-care and beauty industries have embraced cannabidio­l, its efficacy as an ingredient in products such as shampoos, skin creams and cosmetics remains unclear.

According to the World Health Organizati­on, oral use of cannabidio­l appears safe with no undesirabl­e physiologi­cal or addictive effects, though it may adversely interact with some medication­s. It’s being studied as a possible treatment for many ailments, and the Food and Drug Administra­tion approved its use as a prescripti­on drug to treat epilepsy.

But while the World Health Organizati­on notes the popularity of the compound in topical products, little research has been done on its safety and effectiven­ess, with studies on human subjects small and inconclusi­ve.

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