Hot sauce, gummies, powder and small vials of liquid have something in common.
They can all make you feel better.
That’s according to Infused by Epic, a Santa Barbara company that has developed what it calls a faster and better delivery system for CBD.
Infused by Epic uses a water soluble version to increase the body’s speed and efficiency in absorbing cannabidiol, co-founders Diana Starr Langley and Kalon Baird told the News-Press at their company’s Santa Barbara headquarters.
Ms. Langley, 67, the CEO, said the company sells its products to stores and manufacturers, which place their brand name on it and add the words “Infused by Epic.” She explained Infused by Epic’s main CBD product is its water soluble version.
“CBD takes out inflammation in your body. It takes down anxiety, and it takes down pain,” Ms. Langley said. “And it makes you sleep really well.”
CBD is a non-psychoactive, natural compound found in cannabis. It doesn’t make users high.
Under federal law, a CBD product can’t contain more than 0.3 percent of THC (tetrahydrocannabinol, the natural cannabis compound that makes people high).
Unlike THC products, CBD products don’t require a license.
Typically CBD is available in oils, pain creams, gels, gummies, oils, supplements, extracts, etc.
The problems with CBD oil products is the long time it takes to work and the amount of absorption by the body, Ms. Langley said. “I think an average of 20 to 25 percent gets into the bloodstream.”
By contrast, 95 percent of CBD is absorbed by the body through the water-soluble liquid and powders created by Infused by Epic, Ms. Langley said.
Mr. Baird noted their water-soluble products also work faster than CBD oils.
He said their products can dissolve easily in any water-based product such as sodas, coffee, tea, protein shakes, etc., which mask CBD’s bitter taste.
Ms. Langley said they sell their liquid version to beverage manufacturers for producing CBD waters.
The company’s gummies or fruit chews, which are vegan, kosher, gluten-free and low in sugar (only one gram), come in eight flavors varying from grape to apple, strawberry and passion fruit.
Mr. Baird said the company’s powder version can be mixed in a glass of water, protein shakes or baked in bread or other dry recipes.
Ms. Langley pointed to Kushon CBD Foot Relief powder for pain relief, which uses Infused by Epic’s CBD. “You put it in your shoe for your foot, especially if you’re a woman with a high heel.”
Mr. Baird noted he has seen no bad side effects in their products.
And Ms. Langley said she has found relief from them. “I have a pain in my arm. I come in the office and take 25 milligrams of CBD (in a liquid form). I don’t feel the pain for the rest of the day.”
Infused by Epic has one CBD oil-based product, which is its liquid for dogs. Canines would find the water-soluble version bitter and don’t realize there’s a delay in absorption, Ms.Langley said.
The liquid can be put on their dog food or fed directly to them to relieve pain and anxiety, Ms. Langley said.
“For dogs who are hyper, it makes them calm down,” she said.
Ms. Langley said she gives the CBD to Sandy, her 11-year-old golden retriever with sore hips, to relieve her pain and give her more energy. “You give it to her, and she just starts prancing more.”
She noted Infused by Epic serves as the exclusive CBD manufacturer for the team doctors for the National Hockey League and Major League Baseball, as well as for a large autism group involving 12,000 doctors around the world.
Mr. Baird, a Santa Barbara native and 2004 Dos Pueblos High School graduate, explained he became involved with CBD after his mother, Rene, took CBD instead of chemotherapy or radiation therapy.
Her pain decreased and she improved, said Mr. Baird, who took pre-med classes at Santa Barbara City College, earned his accounting certificate in 2012 at UCSB and worked as a horticultural consultant for people growing cannabis plants for their personal medical use. He’s also an EMT.
Today his mother is cancer-free and continues to reside in Santa Barbara.
“We can’t say it was directly related to taking CBD,” Mr. Baird said, but explained CBD was part of a well-rounded approach that included eating a plant-based diet and avoiding sugar, processed foods and stress.
Ms. Langley, a northwestern Ohio native, earned her bachelor’s in business in 1975 at the University of Michigan. She moved to Irvine in 1978 and started her first company, Dioptics, at age 26. She developed the first ultraviolet absorbers in eyeglass lens and implants for cataract surgery. She invented and patented the first UV absorbing sunglasses.
Ms. Langley moved to Santa Barbara in 1997, two years before retiring, and has sat on the boards of various nonprofits.
Mr. Baird knew Ms. Langley through her daughter, Kelley, a classmate at Dos Pueblo.
He said he knew Ms. Langley had been a savvy entrepreneur so he contacted her about starting water soluble CBD products. They began Infused by Epic in July 2018, and Mr. Baird read several books that inspired the company’s development of its water soluble CBD products.
Mr. Baird said their CBD solution is in one manufacturer’s hot sauce. “It’s a way of putting a little CBD on your food without having to think about.”
He added, “It’s a pretty good hot sauce.”
But no, the CBD doesn’t counteract the heat of the sauce, Mr. Baird said with a smile. “That’s a different (sensory) receptor.”
