The future is CBD

CBD has been transformative for Dave Singh, founder of Future CBD, and now he’s helping others reap the benefits too. He tells Cannabis Health why the future looks bright.

A few years ago Dave Singh could barely get out of bed.

Due to a myriad of health conditions, including back pain, diabetes, slipped discs, sciatica and epilepsy, the vape shop he had run for 10 years in Walsall, in the West Midlands would often stand closed.

But after he discovered CBD a few years ago Dave claims he hasn’t had a seizure since. Not only this but he’s been able to come off several heavy duty painkillers – which included tramadol and diazepam – and has noticed an improvement in his mental health.

“At one point, I physically couldn’t get out of my bed, I couldn’t move,” said the 40-year-old.

“Doctors kept giving me different medications, I tried acupuncture, orthopaedic mattresses, a chiropractor, hypnotherapy, physiotherapy, whatever you can think of I tried it.

“Now I still have pain but it’s nothing like it used to be, I can get out of bed every day and I’m taking a lot less medication, which means I have a lot less side effects as a result.”

However, it took Dave a while to find a CBD product that worked for him. After trying several well-known brands from the US and the UK and feeling they were ineffective, he became disheartened with the industry.

“I tried all these different products and I found they were either too expensive, not worth the money or I would have to take more and more to feel any effect – I just wasn’t happy with any of them,” he said.

With over 10 years experience in the vaping industry, Dave saw an opportunity to expand into the rapidly growing world of CBD and offer the product that he had been looking for himself.

After doing his research and consulting with a handful of UK, US and European companies, he launched his first 1,000mg, full spectrum CBD drops, and Future CBD was born.

The brand now stocks a wide range of products from CBD skin care to edibles and drinks and has built up a trusted reputation, both locally and across the UK.

“I’ve always had a good reputation in the vaping industry, I’m not going to sell a product if it’s a copy or if I think it is of poor quality, and I took the same approach to CBD,” said Dave.

“Customers are sometimes put off because we’re not a health shop, but every single person has come back.”

With his own experience of using CBD to draw on, Dave makes a point of providing a personalised service for his customers, sometimes spending up to an hour with them to make sure they leave with the right product for them.

“The word is spreading about CBD, but people still need a lot of education that it’s not going to make them high and it’s not a drug,” he said.

“It can help with your own personal health but we’re clear that it’s not a medicine.”

Dave continued: “I’ll spend time with a new customer and go through everything, answering all their questions. I always ask them to give me a call or pop into the shop, because I’ve been on so many medications myself, I like to find out a bit about their own background and health concerns so I can offer them advice.”

With the Food Standards Agency’s novel food guidance due to come into force from March 2021, some in the industry are worried about the impact the regulations might have on smaller, family-run companies such as Future CBD.

But Dave welcomes the regulation, believing it will bring much-needed credibility to the sector.

“I think the industry is just going to get better and better,” he said.

“There’s a lot of brands out there making false claims, with products which are overpriced, have unclear labelling and ultimately don’t work – hopefully these are going to be weeded out by March. They are giving CBD a bad name.”

Dave added: “If a person was to have a bad experience with a CBD product it puts them off trying any other CBD brands, because they think it’s all the same.

“CBD can be amazing, we receive so much positive feedback from customers about all the different ways it has helped them.”