By Rena McCain

Happy Weedsday to all!

It’s always nice to meet someone in the cannabis/hemp industry who wants to make positive changes in the community. Meet Thomas Broussard.

A husband, father, Texas Southern University graduate, oil and gas professional, world traveler, and nature lover, Broussard is also the owner of the recently opened CBD American Shaman store. He spoke to us about how his travels to China and other factors helped inspire his work with cannabis.

Rena McCain: Did you know that China is historically known as the land of hemp and mulberry?

Thomas Broussard: I did know that! I don’t know if you’re familiar with the Saturday karate movies. It was always mentioned that hemp was being used for medicinal purposes in those cartoons. I find that interesting as I reflect back with my ripening age, how it’s come full circle.

RMcC: Tell us how your experiences have brought you this store.

TB: A friend approached me in 2018 about being a silent partner in his CBD business. I was like, “CBD — isn’t that weed? Cannabis?” I went to an event where some folks were talking about CBD flowers, etc. I was worried to try it because I still work in the oil and gas industry and I was scared it would make me have a positive drug urinalysis. After evaluating this, I saw I didn’t fit with what he wanted to do with this opportunity. I didn’t want to be a silent partner, I wanted to have input and have my ideas considered, as well. I wanted to be involved. So I did more research.

RMcC: What impressed you the most?

TB: I Googled a lot of stuff. Being a businessman, I wanted to have some ideas about how it all worked. One of the things that impressed me the most was reading about Alexis Bortell, a young girl with the epileptic seizures in Colorado.

RMcC: She’s over four years of seizure-free. Her parents are from right here in Texas. They actually found out about cannabis through Dr. Sanjay Gupta on CNN. He was talking about cannabis and supported it.

TB: As I researched, I realized that if I were to get into this business, recognition and differentiating myself from others would be the biggest obstacles. I started researching franchise opportunities, and what big names are out there. I wanted to know who was moving in and shaking up the industry. I chose to partner with American Shaman.

RMcC: This store has really got a nice ambiance to it — it’s not like a smoke shop where the waiters at the counter may not be educated as well as they should be on products. Tell me about CBD American Shaman products. What type of extraction they do?

TB: One of the things that differentiate us is that we use nanotechnology in all of our products. Basically, that takes the particles and then breaks down to smaller sizes, so that you can get a quicker and better absorption in the body. It’s been very effective. And we don’t make claims. When I say that it’s been effective, these are stories and testimonials that come from the consumers.

CBD is a huge component of the plant (Cannabis Sativa), so that is so beneficial to so many people. It helps with muscle strain, bone strength, inflammation, anxiety, and even sleeping. It just helps in general. I got into it because I believe in the product and I want people to feel welcome and comfortable. They can get educated and informed.

RMcC: And hemp seeds provide every single amino acid that your body needs in order to survive; not every plant does that. Cannabis is really a rather special plant.

TB: We carry edibles like beef jerky and dog treats. We carry oils, as well. One is from the hemp plant so that it does not contain any THC at all. Another oil falls within the Farm 2018 bill, so you can either get zero, a teensy, or a small trace of THC. We will also carry a CBC flower, but not in large quantities.

RMcC: I definitely appreciate everything that you’re doing to set this up. We need people like you to have faith and bring it to other people so that they also have the opportunity to see cannabis’s magic.

CBD American Shaman is located at 303 West Gray in Houston, Texas.

For more information, follow Rena McCain on social media: Facebook at Ganja_Grrl420; Instagram at Ganja_Grrl420, or check out her web page at HappyWeedsday.com. Tune in to MIXlr.com/mhx10tx for more.