By Katie Hawbaker
“There is an evolution of looking at marijuana… from being about getting stoned to actually thinking of it as a wellness product.” – Linda Gilbert, BDS Analytics
Consumers’ tastes are evolving with a larger variety of options at the dispensary. With recreational numbers going up and the numbers of medical cards decreasing, educating consumers about the variety of new products on the market is imperative, as there are many entering the market that are akin to wellness products in their personal medical cabinets.
Retail cannabis is growing and evolving in the nutraceutical and wellness category. iLAVA is at the forefront of that movement, working through research and development to provide consumer packaged goods to our customers. This achievement has brought three different options to the Arizona market – topically with iLAVA Touch, metered dosing with Entourage Dablicators, and unique multi-cannabinoid blends in the Entourage vegan gummy edibles.
Topical gels with non-cannabis botanicals like rare and exotic essential oils are an obvious bridge between the past and the future of utilizing this plant. Cannabis was proved to have been used topically in Ancient Egypt, and ancient Chinese medicine used cannabis to treat issues by applying derived products on the skin. Due to the trade routes and early dissemination of information, the benefits of this versatile plant spread through multiple cultures, forming its place of importance in the world of natural medicine.
Cannabis topicals work because they help giving localized relief through skin absorption. Absorbed through pores of one’s skin, they are carried through the bloodstream, then distributed to the endocannabinoid system, triggering cells that assist with the reduction of inflammation, aging, and pain. By applying it to the skin, those users can achieve aspects of healing without psychoactive effects nor inhalation, both of which can be of negative concern for some users.
Because iLAVA Touch contains key cannabinoids, including 550 to 700 milligrams of CBD and THC, using this topical is one of the best ways to stimulate the entourage effect. When we consume the right dose and balance, our endocannabinoid system benefits from the different parts providing best overall results.
In addition to cannabinoids, topical Cannabis also contains terpenes. Over 200 unique terpenes are present in the cannabis species, each with multiple advantages. Including terpenes in topical cannabis products allows the skin to absorb the best parts of cannabis, allowing our bodies to experience the amazing therapeutic effects of the plant. The balance of active ingredients and dilution ratios in our essential oil blend used in iLAVA Touch were formulated with an emphasis on patient safety by a clinical aromatherapist.
Our goal in creating iLAVA Touch was to address the needs of Arizona’s medical marijuana chronic pain patients and adult use customers by providing a level of efficacy that delivers consistent results. Our essential oils are sourced from the United States, Europe, Australia, and Morocco. The three primary essential oils found in iLAVA Touch are some of the most efficacious ingredients found in traditional therapies: Corsican helichrysum (providing a heavenly aroma sourced from Corsica, France), mango ginger (part of the turmeric species, the root has been used in herbal remedies throughout East Asia for ages), and blue tansy (an organic Morrocan plant that provides the terpenes Chamazulen, Sabinine, Camphor, Beta-myrcene, and Beta-pinene).
For a significant amount of time in this industry, users were not confident in how much should be consumed to feel certain effects and achieve relief. This would not be possible without innovative new delivery systems and the advent of precision dosing.
With iLAVA’s Entourage line partnering with Dablicator to produce the Entourage Dablicators with metered dose extracts, to ensure the same measured portion with each use. The Dablicator applicator makes medicating on-the-go easier, cleaner, and more discreet. This unique form-factor and applicator ensures that a precise dose is dispensed completely and cleanly by twisting the apparatus to apply the desired amount of medicine directly from the metal tip onto the consumer’s glass paraphernalia or vaporizer pen. If the consumer is more into eating instead of combusting or inhaling, the Dablicator oil applicator can be directly ingested orally as well.
Similarly, iLAVA has Entourage gummies in different formulations for Day, Twilight, and Night. Each category has a unique mix of cannabinoids, pairing CBG and CBN with more popular Delta-8 or Delta-9 THC, to help achieve desired effects at different times of day. As more research is done about the different cannabinoids and their effects, manufactures can cater specific blends to create results fulfilling shoppers’ needs to consume at different times of the day.