New store brings CBD products to Elkhart as lawmakers debate the future of hemp

ELKHART, Ind. –

A newly opened retail store in Elkhart is bringing hundreds of CBD products to the area. The owner and founder of the company, hopes to also bring education with the store. 

Jeff Gallagher started the company Made By Hemp in 2013 after personally using CBD hemp oil and seeing results. 

“Personally for me, I went on a mission to get off medication,” said Gallagher. “I found that this worked really, really well for balance and calm.” 

His business has grown in Michigan over the last five years.

In May, the state’s Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs released an advisory bulletin defining CBD oil as marijuana and therefore covered by marijuana laws. 

Also this year, in March, Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb legalized CBD oil as long as it has less than .3 percent THC. 

Indiana’s laws toward hemp products are part of the reason Gallagher expanded to the state. He’s also keeping a close eye on the farm bill as lawmakers work towards its final version. Inside the farm bill is the Hemp Farming Act, which is legislation that would legalize hemp as a crop. 

That would mean the plant would no longer be a controlled substance under federal law.

"If the farm bill passes in September, all the language for industrial hemp, it becomes a commodity. They separate between marijuana and hemp, because they cross paths too much, and it's going to allow for us to actually get market research and other medical research," said Gallagher. 

Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow is co-leading the committee finalizing the farm bill. Indiana Senators Joe Donnelly and Todd Young also voted for the bill. 

Gallagher hopes his new store will also serve as a resource to the community. 

"We want you to be an educated consumer,” he said. “Education and knowing what it will and what it won't do is key to this industry. Every industry has snake-hole salesmen, but we're just trying to prevent that, especially in the Elkhart area." 

Gallagher will host an official grand opening on October 1 at the Elkhart location. He also hopes to host education sessions in the future.