By Angela Caito

Supporting the American farmer has long been a tradition in rural America, and when small businesses open in the downtown district of Elizabethton and business owners want to personally see their business succeed, it’s nice to know that they are also supporting farmers whose livelihood depends on profits from the crops they grow. The Answer, a locally owned and operated CBD and hemp products store, is a small business that not only supports farmers, but also shows great enthusiasm and appreciation for their new store location in downtown Elizabethton as well as appreciation for the many businesses that line the sidewalk downtown.

Something that sets The Answer apart from many hemp and CBD oil shops across the United States is the fact that the store owners choose to obtain their products solely from American farmers. In many shops, it’s not always easy to know where products are from or what they contain. Thankfully, The Answer chooses to get their hemp from a farm just over the mountain from Erwin, Tenn., in Asheville, N.C. This not only means they are supporting small farmers, but they can also easily travel to the farm to check out the product firsthand. They check this frequently as a matter of fact and they have watched their products that have been grown as well as extracted and bottled for them to sale in their local shop.

The shop has a wide variety of natural products that can possibly help with inflammation, anxiety or arthritis and since opening in downtown Elizabethton, they have stayed busy with customers who are seeking not only help with combatting their pain or anxiety, but also from many people who want to be educated on the products and what they can potentially help with. Natural products are becoming a popular choice for those who don’t want harsh chemicals or unknown substances in their body, and now that many can see the dangers of opioids and other pharmaceutical pain medications, it’s easy to see how a natural substance such as hemp or CBD oil can gain traction to become an alternative for prescription pain meds and anti-anxiety medications.

Wes Leonard, who co-owns The Answer along with his brother Trevor, stated, “You can pretty much write in concrete that if you have a problem with inflammation, anxiety or arthritis, you can come take our product and get some relief.” He also said that they have regular customers who have Fibromyalgia, Parkinson’s Disease and Autism who have been to the shop and used their products and return for more as needed because the products have been working for them.

While they cannot guarantee the products will cure an ailment or cause someone to have a miraculous, life changing turnaround, they can say that they stand behind their products and they do have the potential to help some. Wes also said that they have had customers who were in very poor shape, including one local woman who has Parkinson’s and could barely walk when she first entered the Elizabethton store. After trying the product, the woman returned a few days later just to give them a hug and thank them because she was able now get up from her chair on her own without help from others and she had not been able to do that in a long time. The customer, he said, attributed her ease of movement to the hemp product she purchased. One thing they love is to have their customers tell their stories of how the products have helped them.

Unlike many who sale products they never use, Wes said that he uses his products and they work well for him. He had issues with pain in his foot and had long been getting steroid shots in his foot that never seemed to work to ease the pain. He tried the CBD oil and within a short time, his foot pain began to subside. When a business owner uses the products they carry, it says a lot about the product quality and with all-natural products with no added chemicals, it seems that The Answer has the quality that goes well with the downtown community.

Something that may surprise some people is the average age of their customer base. It’s easy to believe that the typical hemp shop customer would be a twenty something year old who wanted to buy the products because they are trendy or because they mistakenly believe they can get high from them, but in actuality, the average customer’s age is well into the fifties. Due to the extremely low, or even no amount of THC in the products, a person is not going to be able to get high no matter how much they ingest.

While marijuana and hemp look identical and even smell the same, hemp contains no more than 0.3 percent THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) while marijuana contains anywhere from five to twenty percent THC. You can get high on marijuana but most certainly not on hemp. 

Wes said that the store enjoys being downtown because one of the biggest things they do is work to educate people about the products they sell and when they are in the downtown rather than in a strip mall somewhere, they can talk to more local people and truly show them the facts about hemp products and CBD oil.

For several years The Answer has been open in downtown Kingsport and Bristol since 2018 and now the business also enjoys being open in downtown Elizabethton. Leonard said that they like the fact that the Elizabethton downtown is seemingly moving forward, and they consider it fun to be part of a growing downtown. They also like to see the people walking up and down the sidewalk and enjoy the events including Evenings on Elk, the Saturday night car cruise-in and others.

Wes said, “There are so many people out there who are hurting and they don’t understand that there is actually a way for them to do something that is all natural and organic that will not hurt them or do anything bad whatsoever and will only help improve their overall quality of life and that’s why we are here. We want to show them that.”

The shop not only carries CBD oil and hemp products for humans, they also carry products for pets! That’s right, they have CBD oil for pets that can help pets who have separation anxiety, seizures and other ailments. With the Fourth of July and the loud sounds from fireworks approaching, having a product to help relieve anxiety in pets may be just what the doctor ordered!

The Answer not only carries CBD oil and hemp, but also pet products, gummies, oils and lotions, apparel and more. Whether you’re ready to purchase CBD oil for the first time or try a hemp product, be sure to stop by the downtown shop at 437 E. Elk Avenue and you can gain a better understanding of the many products they carry, what the ingredients of each are and how they work.

Angela Caito is a freelance writer, film producer and publicist who writes a variety of columns nationwide. Sidewalk Stories is an initiative of the steering committee of the Main Street program and one that Angela is currently working on to help promote our downtown businesses. To contact Angela to be included in Sidewalk Stories you can email her at: angela@30dazeproductions.com