When Ethan Pompeo (’16) contracted a case of streptococcal pharyngitis at the age of 13, he did not know that it would affect the rest of his life.
The case of streptococcal pharyngitis receded, but what he left behind was “obsessive compulsive behaviors and thoughts accompanied by debilitating tics,” which were eventually diagnosed as pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorders associated with streptococcal infections (PANDAS).
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, strep bacteria survive in the human body by building molecules that disguise them to resemble molecules found in the heart, joints, skin, and brain tissue. When the body recognizes that streptococcal bacteria are foreign, antibodies are produced to eliminate them. However, because streptococcal molecules mimic other molecules, the immune system attacks both streptococcal bacteria and molecules that have been mimicked. Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), tics, and other PANDAS symptoms are caused by reactive antibodies directed at the brain.
Although the typical age range for PANDAS is 2 to 12 years, it can also occur at later ages.
There are many more symptoms associated with PANDAS, such as anxiety, ADHD symptoms, mood swings, sleep problems, and joint pain. Pompey said that because he initially had streptococcus when he was 13, he has had motor tics and severe anxiety.
“It was a big fight for me,” Pompey said. “He was worried about distracting other people.”
For 10 years, the solutions given to Pompey came in the form of pharmaceuticals. While Pompey was in high school, he smoked marijuana to find relief from his symptoms.
I used cannabis as a way to deal with stress, “Pompeo said.[but] being tall all the time was not a good solution for me. ”
Pompey found that there were side effects of smoking marijuana that were also shocking, such as lethargy and loss of appetite.
When he graduated from JMU, Pompeo said he was looking for a new way of life focused on agriculture and found himself on a farm in Colorado. On the road here was a 300-acre hemp farm, which Pompey said was his first introduction to cannabis for medicinal use.
“Looking for the benefits of marijuana without stopping, Pompeo found his answer in CBD oil.
CBD is an active ingredient in marijuana derived from the hemp plant, which does not cause high effects, but still provides health benefits such as reducing anxiety and chronic pain, and treating insomnia and addiction.
Pompey said his introduction to CBD was a great blessing and called it “nature’s most powerful anti-inflammatory.”
After a hailstorm in Colorado that destroyed the farm where Pompey worked, he returned to Virginia in 2017 and ran into a devastating problem.
“I couldn’t find any quality CBD in Virginia,” Pompeo said.
Instead, Pompey began making his own CBD oil from home.
For six months, Pompey imported hemp plants from Colorado to make his own CBD oil. Eventually, he started sending samples of this to friends and family and even spread it via Snapchat.
“A lot of people liked it and that’s when I thought I could do business with it,” Pompeo said.
Thus, Green Valley Nutrition (GVN) was born with the goal of offering natural alternatives to conventional medical treatments.
What started out as CBD oil has now been expanded to include a catalog of CBD products that include pain creams, capsules, groceries and CBD for pets, among others.
“We’re trying to change the public outlook on cannabis,” Pompeo said. “It can be used safely, medically. It can help improve the quality of your life.”
James Tsikerdanos, GVN’s sales coach, said he used CBD products to treat various aches and pains he has as a military veteran.
“I’ve come to realize that you really need to pay attention to the CBD you’re consuming and that it’s a great alternative to very expensive drugs,” Tsikerdanos said. “It’s worth a try before following the path of traditional medicines like opioids for pain control.”
The changing opinion on cannabis use is something that Pompey has witnessed first hand, and since the legalization of cannabis in Virginia, he said it has been even more pronounced.
“It’s honestly dramatic,” Pompeo said. “It’s so funny, I’ve been stigmatized all my life. I remember a lot of people looking down on me and judging me for helping me deal with my symptoms … Boom! At the time it was legalized, it was as if everyone agreed. “
One of Pompey’s goals is to help continue the stigmatization of what he described as a “misunderstood plant.”
“There is a shadow side and a light side [to all things]and using a plant can cause unhealthy side effects, but there is always a light side, “said Lexi Hutchins (’10), GVN’s graphic designer and brand developer.
Hutchins said that although he does not personally use CBD products, he believes in the good they do and sends them to his mother.
“It’s helping them relieve pain, but without the side effects of pharmaceuticals, so it’s much safer,” Hutchins said.
Following the passage of the 2018 Agriculture Improvement Act, hemp was removed from the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) controlled substance programming. This allowed Pompey to begin “mixing and working with local farmers” to take every step of his manufacturing process to Virginia.
Located in Charlottesville, GVN sells CBD products that host every step of the creation process in Virginia. Pompeo said the notion of being local from “seed to sale” is one aspect that differentiates GVN from competitors.
“We can track all our products to the field [where] it was cultivated, “Pompey said.
Pompeo said he intends to add a section to the website to introduce the company’s local producers, as it is important for GVN that customers see the “real people behind it”.
Another factor that Pompeo said differentiates GVN from competitors is its extraction process.
“[We have] our own unique extraction process, so what we have left is a very pure and clean product, “Pompeo said.” Using the isolate, we know it will be consistent from batch to batch. “
CBD isolate is a pure extract that does not include any other cannabinoids.
“[GVN] is the only company there is [Virginia] that is to make a CBD-isolated product, “Pompeo said,” there are other products, but they are mainly manufactured and shipped. “
GVN currently ships to all states in the United States and some other countries. Pompeo said there are currently seven people on the staff, but he will have to double that to keep growing.
As a former student, Pompeo first went to JMU, looking for full-time fellows to fill a wide variety of positions, such as marketing, sales, chemistry, and manufacturing technicians. Pompeo said the demographics he is looking for are among JMU students: “people who care and are involved in the community.”
Hutchins said he believes the opportunity to do an internship at GVN would be a great experience for aspiring entrepreneurs.
“[You’ll] learn the most important things, you’ll learn what every entrepreneur does from the ground up, ”Hutchins said.
It also encourages anyone interested in applying to focus on the set of skills they can acquire from their experience with GVN.
“I really believe in the direction Ethan is going, and I think it would be a fun learning experience for someone,” Hutchins said.
Tsikerdanos said doing internships with GVN could provide one of the best in-class training for those interested.
“Whether in operations marketing or sales, we will offer industry experts to help guide them where they need to go,” Tsikerdanos said. “I think this is such an amazing brand for the region, and I’m excited to see the impact we’re going to have.”
As GVN and the cannabis industry continue to grow in Virginia, Pompeo’s approach is to offer CBD products that can help people heal as they helped him, as well as being the “local product.” which you can trust “.
Contact McKinley Mihailoff at mihailmx@dukes.jmu.edu. For more coverage of JMU and Harrisonburg news, follow the news board on Twitter @BreezeNewsJMU.
