Laura’s Mercantile, known for its locally-made hemp products, recently launched a second line of products, Homestead Alternatives.

Laura Freeman, owner of Laura’s Mercantile, said the first two Homestead Alternatives products are full-spectrum hemp or CBD tinctures available in one-ounce (750 milligrams) or two-ounce (1,500 milligrams) bottles.

According to the website, the one ounce is $39.99, and the two-ounce bottle is $75.29.

Ben Pasley, chief operating officer at Laura’s Mercantile, said he is passionate about the product because it has helped him personally.

“I have a moderate to sometimes-severe social anxiety that causes me to shut down or have panic attacks or sweat,” he said.  “I take CBD sometimes two to three times a week, and that allows me to maintain my calmness and control my anxiety.”

The products will be available locally at Mason, Full Circle Market, Winchester Therapeutic Massage, Southern States and on the farm during its open hours on Saturdays, Freeman said.

“We always start with Winchester,” she said.

Freeman said the business makes the hemp tinctures from Kentucky hemp leaf and floral material, using a full-spectrum, or whole-plant, tincture which is more effective than a hemp CBD isolate.

Homestead Alternatives has a contract with a Massachusetts-based lab which specializes in hemp testing and is ISO 17025 accredited, to test every batch of hemp (CBD) tinctures the brand puts on the market, according to its website.

Homestead contains more CBDs per milliliter — the amount in one dropper — than comparably-priced tinctures on the market, Freeman said. The tincture is administered under the tongue with a dropper.

Freeman said the hemp tinctures has helped her manage pain from previous injuries. She had been taking prescription NSAIDs — pain relievers like diclofenac, Celebrex and naproxen — for 25 years.

Freeman also grows hemp for grain on Mt. Folly Farm, which she uses in chocolate products as part of the pilot hemp program.

Knowing of Freeman’s familiarity with the hemp business and her pain caused by past injuries, a friend forwarded her a patent owned by the United States of America, represented by the Department of Health and Human Services, which outlined how cannabinoids were found to have antioxidant properties.

These properties can be useful in the treatment and prevention of a wide variety of oxidation diseases such as inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, according to the patent.

Cannabinoids also have particular application as neuroprotectants, for example, in limiting neurological damage from stroke and trauma, or in the treatment of neurodegenerative conditions, according to the patent.

Pasley said some people have used hemp tinctures to help manage seizures.

Non-psychoactive cannabinoids, such as cannabidiol are also non-toxic at high doses, according to the patent.

After reading the patent, Freeman said she was curious to see how hemp could help manage her pain caused by osteoarthritis.

She now takes 25 milligrams of the hemp tincture under the tongue every morning.

Homestead Alternatives calibrated the tincture dropper to 1 milliliter, which equals to 25 milligrams. Freeman said it is suggested to start at 10 milligrams a day, or half the dropper and then increase. The small bottle can last from one to two months depending on how much a person takes a day.

Orders can also be placed online, and products will begin to ship shortly.

Freeman said Mt. Folly Farm is one of two farms she knows of in Kentucky making CBD hemp part of its organic rotation.

As for the future of the new brand, Freeman and Pasley mentioned Senate Bill 50, the proposed industrial hemp bill, that could help the business grow.

“I see the future of homestead alternatives growing towards becoming a trusted brand featuring Kentucky-exclusive grown hemp that offers a wide variety of products that helps a wide variety of people,” Pasley said.