 This is Think Tech Hawaii, Community Matters here. I'm Marcia Joyner and this is Cannabis Chronicles, a one-tenth-thousand-year odyssey. The cannabis comes from a wonderful, wonderful plant. A plant that has grown around the world for ten thousand years. The Chinese have a written history of it and in every culture. The plant that gives us cannabis, hashes, hemp, and dear old Uncle Sam. Oh gosh. Anyway, forget Uncle Sam. Today, our journey is right here today in Honolulu. And we have a lovely, lovely lady who calls herself Mama Dee. I love her Mama Dee. I love that. Mama Dee. Thank you so much. How are you? Great. Good. Now, tell us about you and what you're doing in this cannabis world, the CBD and all of the other things. Tell us about you, your background. And that says that you are an apothecaryist. Did I get that right? Apothecaryist, yes. Well, tell us about you and what is an apothecaryist? Basically, in a nutshell, an apothecaryist is someone that formulates and mixes. You know, back in the olden days, we called them drug stores, but the pharmacists themselves were called apothecaryists because of their mixtures and combinations of different things that they put together to heal. So you went to school to learn how to do all of this? My college background is biology and forensic science, yes. So then you create these products based on your background? Based on my background and a little bit of inspiration as well. Wonderful. So what kinds of products do you create? You think of things that we need that are environmentally sound and healthy and what have you, and with a little bit of CBD and you don't have any THC, right? Or do you? We do. We actually give our clients a choice. Choice. Because some of our clients like to have that entourage effect to go along with what they have. So we do actually customize and give the clients a choice. So, I would think the military need a clean P-test so they wouldn't want anything. Absolutely not. They wouldn't use just the CBD product. Now, what is the difference in CBD and THC? What is the difference in coming from the plant? What is the difference in the part of the plant that has the THC and the part of the plant that doesn't? What's the difference? Well, we have transmitters in our body that actually triggers our healing. This comes from the cannabinoids and basically the CBD helps enhance that. It causes, it's kind of like a magnet. I'm trying to use technical terms so that other people know. It's kind of like a magnet and it triggers like a sleep patterns or healing patterns and things. So that's what the CBD itself does. But the THC, as I mentioned, it gives a cycle effect that goes along with it. And basically it's not a lot. It's only a tad bit, but that little bit gives you kind of an ease of mind. Because some people, when they have different ailments, they're a little bit paranoid. Oh gosh, my head is hurting me. My back is hurting me. What can I do to get in their stress? And the THC just kind of like takes their stress level down a little bit. So it eases? It eases off the worry. So how long have you been doing this? I've been doing it a few years now. I actually have a bath and body company. We make soap and lotion and bath products. We have a natural sunscreen and other products. And upon so many of my clients requesting to have CBD incorporated into their products, I did a little research, found out the levels, what I would need to do in order to incorporate into the product. And then I did so. And then at that point I had additional clients requesting the THC to go along. So you mentioned the Sundown. Yes. So what is that? You know, we hear so much about the Sundown, the chemicals in the Sundown lotion that ruin the coral. Right. So tell us about yours and how it's different. So basically our sunscreen, we say it's edible, but not so you eat it, only so you know if your children put their hands in their mouth or their pets lick their limbs, you know that it's totally safe. It is safe for the coral reefs and it repels water. Just recently, you know, diving, going down and looking, all the reefs are kind of white. They have a lot of color and stuff. And we've got so much sunscreen in our oceans now. Oh yeah. White key key smells like copper tone. Absolutely. If you just walk down the beach, you can smell it. Absolutely. You know, in an effort to actually, you know, bring naturalness to it, we like to say that our products, the word Ina means land, we like to say that our products come from the Ina, they're good for the Ina, and they help save the Ina. Because that's what we're after, saving this planet that we call Earth. So how many different products do you have? Oh, we have tons of products. We have 52 soaps alone. 52 soaps. 52 soaps. Different soaps. Yes. And we have lotions. We have healing salves. We have dog products. We have just tons of things. You name it. We have it. We do have where you can actually customize any product that we have and have whatever you need incorporated into it as well. So if I wanted a product, I wouldn't even know what to ask for in terms of customizing. What would I, I'm not sure. That's my job. You just tell me I need a muscle bone with some CBD and I'll catch you. What, something that for pain, for instance? For pain. For pain, we actually have this right here, which is our therapeutic muscle rub. And it's got good stuff in it. We have neroli and pepper and other things in there, some Hawaiian chili pepper and different things of the sort. However, we do have CBD in here. We use a 750 milliliter milligram of the CBD in here. We put enough in here because we know when people are going to put it on more than one time a day. So we put enough in there so that you're not overdosing, putting on too much or anything. But it is enough to help. I actually have some on my shoulders right now. So you would rub it on for whatever area. Whatever area is paining you. And you can, I bought that one for you to try out. You can actually open it and smell it, lift the seal on it. Smells familiar. Yes, yes. And actually what I did, I bought three of them with me today because I would like for you all to try them out. So I have three samples that I'm going to give to you and everyone else. So I would like for you to try them out. This is, what is this? That is our therapeutic muscle rub. That's the muscle rub. So Eric and Jay and Rich. Okay. So what is this? This is actually just a gift. This is some pumpkin soap part of our Christmas line. However, I have a lot of clients that like hemp soap and different things of the sort. So in this soap, although it's pumpkin, I do have hemp oil. And I also use a few drops of the 750 of the CBD in there as well. And those are just samples for you all. The bar itself is actually larger than this, but I just bought these three for you all. Oh wow. So this is soap. It is soap that you can take a bath with. And that's another reason we kind of regulate our levels because we have people that use, because we have a full line of bath and body products, we have people that will use the soap. They will get out and use our body mist. The body mist has it incorporated in it as well. And they will spray with the body mist. And then they will take some of the muscle rub. This is really good for sciatic nerve or all different types of elements. I love this. And we've got real pumpkin incorporated into there. It smells like real pumpkin. Yes. We got it from, I did an event last weekend. They were giving away some pumpkins. So I took them and purated and poured it right in the soap batter. And you do events in the swap meet and all kinds of things. Yes, we do. We're always around. We have people call us every day say, hey, Mama D, where are you at today? Because they come to get their products. So you save an overhead by not having a showroom. Yes, absolutely. We have a warehouse where we package things and put the label on and stuff. We do not currently have a storefront, but my clients find me. If you go on Yelp in different places Etsy as well and read some of our reviews, you'll see that we have outstanding. I was impressed. Yes. I went to Yelp. I was thoroughly impressed with the reviews. Thank you so much. Yeah. Our number one product, and I apologize. Our number one product is the muscle rub. We don't have a number one, but in the top line are our muscle rub, our comfrey. What is comfrey? Oh, wow. Comfrey is awesome. Comfrey was actually banned by the United States in the 60s because comfrey itself has broken bones and torn ligaments and stuff. So the pharmaceutical people don't want you to use it? Big farm. No. However, in the United States, we lifted our ban in the 80s. Australia lifted theirs three years ago. Germany still has that ban. But comfrey heals broken bones, torn ligaments. It's good for rheumatoid arthritis, eczema, psoriasis, a number of things. And if you go online and do your research, comfrey is really good. However, in our comfrey, we actually incorporate St. John's Ward, Horsetail, Neem, Marshmilla, Calendula, of course CBD and other things as well. So on our Etsy page, tons of people purchase it. They're all very satisfied with their results. So you have a store on Etsy? We do, yes. That is interesting. I think I've only been to Etsy once. But those are all homemade products. Everything on Etsy has to be homemade. It's crafted or handmade, yes, the majority of things. So it's not open to commercial vendors? Technically no. You know how we have some people that try to sneak something on their wire. But yes, if you go on Etsy, you're going to find quality items that are handmade, you know, have things like our secret ingredient in it. A secret ingredient? What is the secret ingredient? We normally don't tell our secret ingredient, however, because you have asked, I will tell you, our secret ingredient is a tad bit of aloha. So it's made with love? It's made with love. It's really, we're very tedious, we're very meticulous. Our measurement, you know, everything, we're very, very, you know, we fine-tune everything. And you just put that love into all of it, and it makes a difference. And since you are not manufacturing in bulk, it makes a difference. Correct. In being able to devote love to each and every piece. Yes, love to each and every item. The way it was back in the olden days, you know, before machinery took over and everything, they had inspectors that went through and looked at every item and said, oh, cut that corner off, do this and that. And that was the love that was put into it. But now machines have kind of like taken over the jobs of everyone. And, you know, the society itself is just a rushed nation. So a few people need to start using some CBD and different things so that they can like see, slow down a little bit in life. It is. Yes. I'm fascinated with... Thank you. And I don't usually like pumpkin, but this is Thanksgiving. Yes. Well, actually because I'm an executive pastry chef, I incorporated some nutmeg and cinnamon and cassia and different things in here as well. A pastry chef? I am. I used to be the head baker in the Grand Tetons. Oh, wow. Yeah. And coming to Hawaii, I was going to actually open a cafe. I fell, broke my ankle, had to get plates and screws in my ankle. And I created my comfrey salve to heal my ankle. And I passed up a little bit out. And thus, Mama Dee was born. Thus you started Mama Dee's. Yes, absolutely. So how long were you a pastry chef? Years. I home schooled for 11 years. And when my children... My oldest child now is 36, I have seven. But when my children were young, we made all of our own bread, our pasta from scratch. So I've been doing it for a lifetime, but I just actually went and enrolled in school about 10 years ago. To be certified... To have that piece of paper that everyone requires. Yes. So that not only are Pothicarious... Did I get that right? Apothicarious, yes. Yeah. We need to take a break. And when we come back, let's talk about the rest of your products. Awesome. Thank you so much. We'll be right back. This is Think Tech Hawaii. Raising public awareness. If you're not in control of how you see yourself, then who is? Live above the influence. Aloha. I'm Marcia. And we're back talking today with Mama D. And about all of her wonderful products made of hemp, THC, and cannabis. Yes. Or CBD. CBD. Mm-hmm. Tell us now, how do you go from being a chef to cannabis products? Actually, it's all incorporated together. Because studying biology in college, when I went to school to learn how to be a chef, you know, I see that it all incorporated emulsion and, you know, learning different things that actually incorporated into the science of baking. Now I'm into the science of body products. So is this all one big realm that is all tied in together? So when did you decide on becoming, to doing your own CBD products? Supply, need, and demand. Supply. When my ankle got broke, I could not find anything that I needed to heal my ankle. So I created my own. And then in doing so and passing it out, someone said, well, can you make soap? And I said, yes. I made soap when my children were young. Again, making soap. Then someone else came and said, I'd really love some very moisturizing lotion. And I said, oh, I got just the thing. Because when I was young, we had to take castor oil by a spoon. I remember that. You remember that? And I, you know, the emollients and everything that's in castor oil, I noticed, you know, going in the stores, a lot of lotions and things don't have it in there. So I put it in my lotion. And I sell tons of lotion because it's not real shiny. It's not greasy or anything. But it has that lasting moisturizing effect. So you have, okay, this is, that is a hydrating spray. And basically with that, it has a tad bit of witch hazel and stuff in it. It does have about four droppers full of some 750 CBD, which is a little, it's a very good level of it. And basically when you're outside or if you're doing your makeup or if you're inside, you just mist yourself with the tad bit of it. It instantly hydrates you. Ooh. Ooh. Yeah. And you just, and also you're getting good stuff, you know. It smells great. You get out the shower. Lemon grass. Yes, it's lemon grass. You know your stuff. It smells like lemon grass. You get out the shower from taking a bath or something and you just mist yourself and it's good. That is wonderful. That is wonderful. Now, I guess the question is, how's it priced? Actually, we're doing really good with the price. You know, I try my best to cut corners. I try to use product that is from the land. You know, I go to the farmer's market. I use as much natural stuff as I can, which helps me to cut down the price of things. So, for instance, this two ounce muscle rub, it's like $30, which is really good because a little bit, a tad bit goes a long way. So, you'll have this for months, you know. And especially the things that I have in it, they're neroli, all of that. We have turmeric, everything in there. And the things that are in it are really quite costly. So, we try to cut corners, but not cut the quality of the product. So, all I have to do is go to Etsy. Etsy.com. Etsy.com. And look for Mama-D's. Yep. When you get in there, you want to type in Buy Mama-D. Remember, this product is made by Mama-D. Oh, Buy Mama-D. Buy Mama-D. So, when you get in there, you type in Buy Mama-D and you look for the little blue stamp with the yellow apron on it. Oh, okay. And then we can look at a list of things. Do you make them when you get an order? I do. We customize a lot of things. So, if by any chance they're on Etsy, and they see something on there that they like that does not have CBD in it, they can actually contact me and we can get them that same item with CBD in it. So, if I go to Etsy, how long does it take before I get the product that I'm asking you to create? Yeah. We have a two-business they turn around. Wow. Yes. That's incredible. That is wonderful. This is a therapeutic muscle rub. Mm-hmm. And we did smell this. Yeah. Turmeric? There is turmeric in there as well. Yes. Hmm. And I don't know if you know anything about Neroli. Neroli is actually an orange that comes from Florida. That orange is so delicate that it has to be picked by hand only. They cannot use machines. But it's very, very potent and powerful as far as healing sore muscle and different elements as well. Mm-hmm. So, this right here is our goat milk. Body cream. Yeah. And see the thing about it is because we have all bath and body products, it doesn't take you out of your daily routine because you wake up and you put lotion on anyhow during the day. When your muscles are sore, you take muscle rub and you put it on. So, different things, you don't have to go out of your daily routine. Some women like to take a bath with bath bombs. We have bath bombs with CBD in it. So, whatever it is you do in your daily routine. So, if you have a bath bomb with CBD, does that relax you? It relaxes you. Absolutely. Yes. So, at the end of the day, you would just wash away all of it. Wash away all your worries. Yes. Mm-hmm. So, I'm still interested in how you take all these wonderful things and began the process of thinking, well, if I add CBD or THC... Yeah. You've got to... I have conditions. I have to have everything like straight and I have to do things a certain way. And because of that, my psychological thinking is different than others. I use... I'm extremely creative. I rest very little at night because my wheels are always turning, hey, if I take this and do that. And it's kind of like an epiphany when someone says, hey, I know you have lip balm, but I would really love to have some CBD. I can't rest that day. All day long, I'm walking around, okay, how much am I going to put in there? How many grams? Should I make it oily? Should I make it... And I don't stop until I get it. And some of my products, I go through 9, 10, 12 trials before I get it like I like it. That's that aloha. That's the aloha. That's the aloha. So you don't have a lot of money invested in marketing and... I do not. We keep everything simple. We keep everything simple. That's what allows us to make it affordable. We don't pay a lot of money for advertisement or marketing or anything like that. And that's how we're able to keep our prices down. Not having a storefront. That's how we're able to keep our prices down. Now, again, I'm back to my favorite, and that is the suntan. The sunscreen. Do the tourists know that you have this? How do you let the tourists know? So they can stop using the other stuff. I give out free samples. So I'm constantly always around giving free samples. I explain to them that what you're using, you know, those reefs and stuff are not going to be there pretty soon. If you keep on using those, you know, you need to try this and I'll tell them about the law that Hawaii has on the floor to ban certain sunscreens and stuff. I am impressed. Thank you. I am so proud of you as a naturalist. I guess, is that a good word? Naturalist is an excellent word. Yes. That you have created all these wonderful things. Thank you. Where are you from originally? I was born in Florida. Oh, okay. All right. I'm not sure that I know how to say this. I have met so many people who are from that part of the world, that indigenous part of the world, that have this connection to nature. That's why I asked you. And you know, and I apologize for interrupting. The other thing is my heritage is Eastern Venturiki. So my grandmother used to take tobacco and mix salves out of it. The nipple cream, like when we were, our children were growing up and we were breastfeeding, she would take plantain, bananas and stuff and make nipple cream for us so that our babies could breastfeed. And I have all those products as well. I have the plantain, nipple cream and all of that stuff because I remember my grandmother going out cutting stuff out of the yard and throwing in pots. I hear her turn to this. It's wonderful. Well, this has been a great afternoon. Thank you so much for coming in and you will come back. Absolutely. Thank you so much for having me. Aloha and we'll see you next time.