Photography by Christine Ciarcia
Royal Budline is a classy, Northern Humboldt outfit. For the past two years, owners Vanessa and Duke have dedicated themselves to producing the best quality topical salves and sprays using the best quality cannabis and other medicinal plants. Take a look at their websites προδυχτ page and you’ll get a mini-course in the benefits of many of the healing herbs they use. Great information to match their great products.
The company name came from a long afternoon conversation with friends, tossing around lots of different ideas. When Vanessa heard Royal Budline, something clicked. She said it spoke to the sense of regal elegance she feels toward what they make. She and Duke deeply respect the whole world of medicinal flora and hold a special place of honor for the cannabis plant. They both spoke movingly about helping shape a long-overdue, more positive view of cannabis and its users.
Their knowledge of medicinal plants comes from long personal interest enhanced by study at the Dandelion Herbal Center in Kneeland. As many fortunate people know, learning from Jane Bothwell means honoring the plant world that sustains and heals us. Royal Budline was a sponsor of Jane’s first medical cannabis conference held there last April. The second conference will be held next April 23, and 24 at the Arcata Community Center.
The Royal Budline goal is to “put healing herbs into the hands of those who need it.” Right now, they are doing this with salves and sprays that come in two herbal profiles, Peppermint or Chai Blend, each with its own formula of plant materials. The salve is a classic way to deliver herbal medicine while the spray is easy and quick, perfect for your first aid kit. These products are medicinal in several senses. The cannabis is Cannatonic, a royal bloodline in its own right, famed for its 1:1 ratio of THC and CBD. The lemongrass, turmeric, ginger, other essential oils and other ingredients are all organic. SC Labs regularly tests the flowers, concentrates and final products to ensure consistent quality and potency levels. Each batch is lovingly crafted with relief of suffering in mind. Vanessa says, “I make the medicine inspired by my own pain and others’ pain. I believe in plant medicine.”
Vanessa knows this personally, developing and using herbal products to soothe her arthritis. She would ask friends and family to try her concoctions and tell her honestly what worked and what didn’t. In this way, a community contributed to the excellence of Royal Budline. As a result, Vanessa’s confidence in her creations grew from honest feedback and her own experience. Now, she knows they are fulfilling their goal, literally putting healing herbs into people’s hands.
For Duke, the greatest satisfaction has come from changing minds about cannabis while changing lives for the better. Some folks in his life who were negative about the medicinal properties of cannabis have completely come around. “People who wouldn’t have had anything to do with this plant a few years ago and thought I was wrong for being involved, now they can’t get enough of our products. They get health benefits with no side effects.”
Enticing as these products smell, remember they are not medibles. They are for your skin, not in your mouth! Use them for the relief of sore muscles, aching joints and painful skin. My chef friend has discovered several benefits of the Peppermint Spray. He started using it for his chronic neck pain. He says waking up was the worst, with his neck all stiff and tender; the spray works fast and to his delight, his pain went from a 6 to a zero.
As a chef, burns are a major occupational hazard. The spray cools instantly. He finds the Peppermint Spray more effective than other products for both muscles and skin. And it is stainless, totally absorbing into the skin with no residue, just lots of good medicine.
Word of mouth was their first way to let people know; positive recommendations spread along friendship networks. Right now, their products are available at the Humboldt Patient Resource Center (HPRC) in Arcata and at MK Wellness in Los Angeles. You can see their products with the full ingredient list at
Royalbudline.com. You can also meet them at this year’s Emerald Cup at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds in December and at the High Times Medical Cannabis Cup in Los Angeles in February.
Check out the 2016 Dandelion Herbal Center Medical Cannabis Conference at:
Dandelionherb.com.
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