Crews battle 2.5-acre brush fire near Alico and Eagle Village DriveJake’s story: A mother’s mission to share her son’s story and help other young people
ESTERO Crews battle 2.5-acre brush fire near Alico and Eagle Village Drive San Carlos Park Fire District is on the scene fighting a 2.5-acre brushfire near Alico and Eagle Village Drive.
FORT MYERS Jake’s story: A mother’s mission to share her son’s story and help other young people One Fort Myers mom is turning her pain into purpose after her son, who she refers to as her “heavenly Angel,” took his own life.
CAPE CORAL New renderings for the Cape Coral Yacht Club promise a bright future The Cape Coral Yacht Club, which has been part of this community since the 1960s, will now have a new look after Hurricane Ian’s devastating effects.
LEHIGH ACRES Owner bars public from Barefoot Lake, LCSO installs Watch Tower Every weekend, roughly 200 people go to Barefoot Lake in Lehigh Acres to relax, fish, swim and have a good time.
CAPE CORAL Concern over water shortage in Cape Coral Concern is flowing through Cape Coral as neighbors are seeing their canal levels low and their wells run dry.
FORT MYERS FSW softball swinging for success in the postseason Now their focus shifts to states which means the newbies are looking to the experienced sophomores for advice.
BONITA SPRINGS Young SWFL tennis player competing with professionals You may not know her name now, but you might want remember it because 16-year-old Cookie Jarvis-Tredgett is already competing with professionals.
NORTH NAPLES ‘It’s all about connection,’ Statement Peace makes jewelry with sustainability in mind The brand Statement Peace, once started inside founder Jessica Lee’s home, is now in 2,700 stores across the country
Pine Manor 2 arrested for firing gun at birthday party in Pine Manor A party ended with two people behind bars.
FORT MYERS Shooting investigation on busy Fort Myers street Police are conducting a shooting investigation that involves a traffic crash near Michigan Avenue and Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard.
FGCU New FGCU athletic director Colin Hargis ready to build on department’s success New FGCU athletic director Colin Hargis talks about the department’s future amid the age of NIL and the transfer portal.
FORT MYERS More middle-aged women being treated for acne You probably thought you broke up with it after high school, but acne is rearing it’s ugly blackheads in adult women.
Lee County student ran up and hit teacher in head, report shows The report says a 13-year-old student ran up and smacked a teacher in the head because multiple classmates offered him money to do so.
NAPLES Collier Planning Commission continues discussion for apartments near Fiddler’s Creek The developer of Fiddler’s Creek wants to build hundreds of luxury apartments on a slice of a 600 acre-plus property known as section 29.
CAPE CORAL Fatigue sets in for third day of FEMA hearings Flying several hours to come to a FEMA code compliance hearing in Cape Coral is the reality for John Gasparini from Maryland.
ESTERO Crews battle 2.5-acre brush fire near Alico and Eagle Village Drive San Carlos Park Fire District is on the scene fighting a 2.5-acre brushfire near Alico and Eagle Village Drive.
FORT MYERS Jake’s story: A mother’s mission to share her son’s story and help other young people One Fort Myers mom is turning her pain into purpose after her son, who she refers to as her “heavenly Angel,” took his own life.
CAPE CORAL New renderings for the Cape Coral Yacht Club promise a bright future The Cape Coral Yacht Club, which has been part of this community since the 1960s, will now have a new look after Hurricane Ian’s devastating effects.
LEHIGH ACRES Owner bars public from Barefoot Lake, LCSO installs Watch Tower Every weekend, roughly 200 people go to Barefoot Lake in Lehigh Acres to relax, fish, swim and have a good time.
CAPE CORAL Concern over water shortage in Cape Coral Concern is flowing through Cape Coral as neighbors are seeing their canal levels low and their wells run dry.
FORT MYERS FSW softball swinging for success in the postseason Now their focus shifts to states which means the newbies are looking to the experienced sophomores for advice.
BONITA SPRINGS Young SWFL tennis player competing with professionals You may not know her name now, but you might want remember it because 16-year-old Cookie Jarvis-Tredgett is already competing with professionals.
NORTH NAPLES ‘It’s all about connection,’ Statement Peace makes jewelry with sustainability in mind The brand Statement Peace, once started inside founder Jessica Lee’s home, is now in 2,700 stores across the country
Pine Manor 2 arrested for firing gun at birthday party in Pine Manor A party ended with two people behind bars.
FORT MYERS Shooting investigation on busy Fort Myers street Police are conducting a shooting investigation that involves a traffic crash near Michigan Avenue and Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard.
FGCU New FGCU athletic director Colin Hargis ready to build on department’s success New FGCU athletic director Colin Hargis talks about the department’s future amid the age of NIL and the transfer portal.
FORT MYERS More middle-aged women being treated for acne You probably thought you broke up with it after high school, but acne is rearing it’s ugly blackheads in adult women.
Lee County student ran up and hit teacher in head, report shows The report says a 13-year-old student ran up and smacked a teacher in the head because multiple classmates offered him money to do so.
NAPLES Collier Planning Commission continues discussion for apartments near Fiddler’s Creek The developer of Fiddler’s Creek wants to build hundreds of luxury apartments on a slice of a 600 acre-plus property known as section 29.
CAPE CORAL Fatigue sets in for third day of FEMA hearings Flying several hours to come to a FEMA code compliance hearing in Cape Coral is the reality for John Gasparini from Maryland.
CBD oils. (Credit: CBS News) It looks like pot, can be vaped like pot, even eaten like pot. But pot, it is not. It’s called CBD, short for cannabidiol, a buzzy chemical compound that’s on a real market high. CBD is extracted from hemp, in the same plant family as marijuana. But CBD won’t have you microwaving pizza rolls at 2 a.m., because it contains very little THC, the stuff that gets you stoned. It’s essentially weed without the high, and those who swear by it say it’s helping everything from arthritis to insomnia, anxiety to depression, and maybe much more. At CBD Kratom in Chicago, sales associate Elijah Olson can barely keep the shelves stocked. Correspondent Lee Cowan said of CBD’s claims, “It sounds like it’s almost too good to be true.” “Yeah, and I think for some people it might be,” Olson said, “but overall, people are finding at least some relief, it’s at least taking the edge off, if not totally helping them out.” Bethany Gomez has been using CBD for her chronic pain. “I mean, we’re seeing it in everything from the taffies to gummies and caramels to coffee, pet treats, shampoos, bath balms,” she said. Cannabidiol, a chemical compound extracted from hemp, is now at the center of a swiftly-growing industry which last year derived about $600 million in U.S. sales. CBS NEWS Gomez also happens to be the managing director of the Brightfield Group, a market research company that has been tracking CBD sales. “I have never seen an industry grow this quickly, and I’ve never seen an industry with so much headwind.” Last year the U.S. market hit about $600 million. But Gomez forecasts that in as little as five years, it’s likely to blossom nearly 40 times that, making CBD a $22 billion a year market. She said, “Over the past year, it’s grown by more than 200%. And that was with the market being federally illegal until December 20, when the Farm Bill passed.” Yep, the Farm Bill. Hemp, once a common crop in the U.S., got lumped together with marijuana and banned back in 1937. But last year’s Farm Bill lifted that ban. So, as long as it has less than 0.3% THC and is grown by licensed farmers, hemp is legal. But that doesn’t mean the CBD derived from it is, at least not entirely. According to the FDA, it’s still against the law for CBD manufacturers to make any health-related claims about their products. And it’s warned companies (with mixed results) not to add CBD to food. That’s because large scientific studies on CBD are way behind its newfound popularity. Even what dose to take is in question. “We’re having people consuming this compound in large quantities, and we don’t know the full health impact,” said Yasmin Hurd, a professor at Mount Sinai’s School of Medicine in New York. She says CBD is showing promise, but a healthy dose of skepticism sure wouldn’t hurt. “It’s not going to work for everyone,” she said. “No drug works for everyone.” The FDA has approved one CBD drug called Epidiolex that’s now in use to treat seizures associated with certain forms of childhood epilepsy. And Hurd’s own research suggests that CBD may also curb addictions to heroin and other dangerous opioids. “The research to date gives us a big promise on which to build,” she told Cowan. Laura Fuentes is threading the needle between the scientific and anecdotal evidence. She said she was skeptical at first. “I started making products way back, and we gave them to friends and family. And it started working. And I was like, What? What’s happening here? Like, it’s working.” The one-time pharmacist jumped into the CBD market with both feet, trusting that the research and the regulation will soon follow. Cowan asked, “So, you must have a pretty strong faith in what this does for you to give up your career to do this.” “I do. I have a really strong faith in it,” Fuentes replied. “You don’t know exactly what the potential is.” “Yeah.” “But you know there’s some potential?” “There is great potential,” she said. Her company, Green Roads, is now one of the largest CBD makers in the country, cornering about a 10% share of the CBD market. Its sales force is made up of mostly 20-somethings who feel like they’re on the cutting edge of something big. National chains like CVS and Walgreens have announced plans to carry CBD products in some of their stores. It’s already in department stores like Neiman Marcus. So, analysts say it’s only a matter of time before CBD is as mainstream as Coca-Cola. A drug? A supplement? A fad? CBD may just be all three.