“I’m sure other people have products, but I think I am the only company in Iowa with CBG,” said owner Tyler Underberg. “These are legitimate medicinal products, and that is no joke. This is not candy to get you high.”

He said the products he has available are all free of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive compound in cannabis. He also has legal topical and tincture CBD (cannabidiol) products.

“The difference between them is CBD is the main cannabinoid, and CBG is the mother of all cannabinoids,” Underberg said. “Every cannabinoid starts as CBG, which is also an energy booster, as well. So, if you need to go to work and be pain free, CBG is great for that.”

Pure ReLeaf was open before the new state law restricting consumable hemp products went into effect on July 1. After that date, Underberg had to break the news to his customers that they could not buy the products.

Tyler Underberg, owner of Pure ReLeaf, displays his CBG (cannabigerol) products in his store located in the 13th Street District. He is one of the few businesses legally providing such products to consumers.

“These people were in real pain and were left hanging,” he said. “Some of them stocked up before July 1. Some people came back and I had to send them away, and I was heartbroken.”

The law also addressed some loopholes which might have kept some businesses from closing.

“They found a number of different ways to shut everyone down,” Underberg said.

For example, if some products were within legal limits, he said the business still could not sell due to labels. Fortunately, since Underberg takes care of manufacturing his own products from his facility in Colorado, he was able to address the labeling issue.

The new restrictions passed by the state legislature and Gov. Kim Reynolds have only served to harm the state and residents, Underberg said.

“I was never selling THC in the first place, so I should not have had to comply,” he said. “My customers are elderly, not kids. I promise kids are getting actual marijuana, not using CBD, and they are not getting it for achy joints or bad hips.”

Before the law went into effect, Underberg tried to get the necessary licenses, but the process took longer than expected. He had to go through the Iowa Department of Health (DOH) and the state Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing, and is still awaiting approval from the DOH for his CBG capsules.

Underberg hopes his actions inspire other business owners to pursue selling CBG and CBD products.

“It is doable,” he said. “I was a little worried they would blackball me, but they did not do it. I can’t speak to THC products, because we remove the THC. In the future, I want to end up wholesaling to other companies who want to sell.”

For the time being, Underberg wants to get Pure ReLeaf up and running again.

“I am not sure I have the time to handle other companies yet,” he said.

His focus is on getting his customers, who Underberg said are primarily senior citizens, the products they need.

“I want them to know I am still open, so people have a place to go,” he said. “If people see what I am doing and it gives them hope, I hope they do it themselves. If they want to do this business, it is doable.”

BUSINESS INFORMATION:

Name: Pure ReLeaf

Address: 209 N. 13th St.

Hours: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday – Friday; 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday

Phone: 720-304-5890

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Contact Lana Bradstream at 641-753-6611 ext. 210 or l

bradstream@timesrepublican.com.