Health care has been a constant presence in Matt Parks’s life for much longer than most people.

His mother is an ER nurse. His older brother was born with a rare condition and was often hospitalized as a child. And as a college baseball player, Matt started taking nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) to cope with a shoulder injury.

He became dependent on the medications and started to experience migraines. He also developed depression when his parents divorced, which he still struggles with.

By 2019, having been Vice President and Sales Manager at Williams Medical Supply Inc. for over a decade, Matt was a veteran of the medical supply industry. Conversations with people in his field who had looked into cannabidiol — better known as CBD — and customers who had used it, convinced him that the majority of CBD products were ineffective.

This inspired him to see if he could come up with something better. He had three main areas of improvement. He wanted to create a hemp-derived topical CBD cream that he could verify did not contain tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main psychoactive compound in cannabis. He also wanted to build a company that was directly accessible to customers who had questions, and a brand that didn’t traffic in the usual hype.

That year, he founded One Less CBD — as in “one less pill to take.”

Listen to this episode of Back Talk Doc to find out what CBD is and isn’t, how to choose a CBD product, and to hear about Matt’s journey from patient to employee to entrepreneur.

💡 Featured Experts 💡

Name: Matt Parks

What he does: Before founding One Less CBD in 2019 and leading the business as CEO, Matt was Vice President and Sales Manager at Williams Medical Supply Inc for over a decade.

Company: One Less CBD

Words of wisdom: “[CBD is] not going to regrow cartilage. What we see is a daily topical application to help people become more mobile, become more active and create a better overall lifestyle, and stop reaching for two or three Aleve every single day, and apply something that is more plant-derived and natural.”

Connect: LinkedIn

⚓ Anchor Points ⚓

Top takeaways from this Back Talk Doc episode

★    CBD is thought to help reduce inflammation by assisting your body’s endocannabinoid system (ECS). Endocannabinoids are anti-inflammatory molecules produced by your body. However, certain enzymes interrupt the ECS process, and absorb endocannabinoids, reducing the system’s effectiveness. “The whole idea behind CBD is, let's introduce more cannabinoids, block out some of those enzymes, and actually let the body do some natural healing,” Matt says.

★    Hemp-derived and marijuana-derived CBD are different. Both hemp and marijuana are types of cannabis plants. The key legal difference is that marijuana contains more than 0.3% THC, the psychoactive component that causes users to experience a high, and less CBD than hemp. Hemp contains 0.3% THC or less. It’s important that CBD consumers know that the topical they’re using does not contain more than 0.3% THC, because if it does, they could fail a drug test.

★    Consider who’s selling you CBD. If you have a question about the CBD you just bought, it’s not a given that you’ll be able to connect with a real person or even find legitimate information on the product’s website. And while CBD is legal, there’s no regulatory body for the industry yet. Get it from a naturopath or chiropractor rather than, say, a gas station or convenience store.

⚕️ Episode Insights ⚕️

Top takeaways from this Back Talk Doc episode

[00:00] Mobile-based solutions for clinical practice: Check out our sponsor, QxMD, which builds mobile solutions that drive evidence-based medicine in clinical practice.

[01:44] Meet Matt: Matt Parks is the founder and CEO of One Less CBD. As a college baseball player, Matt injured his shoulder, and began taking NSAIDs to cope. He became dependent on the medications, which led to migraines.

[6:04] Unimpressed: Working in the medical supply industry after college, Matt interacted regularly with consumers dealing with painful conditions like rheumatoid arthritis. They were underwhelmed by CBD products. Matt was inspired him to come up with a superior product.

[10:34] Opening the floodgates: The 2018 Farm Bill took CBD off the Schedule I narcotics list, which sparked the CBD craze. But there wasn’t any regulatory framework to ensure quality control.

[16:29] Blocking the blockers: The endocannabinoid system (ECS) reduces inflammation in our bodies by releasing cannabinoids, but these cannabinoids are sometimes intercepted by enzymes that absorb enough of them to prevent the ECS’s therapeutic effects. CBD products are designed to block some of these enzymes so healing can occur.

[18:30] A supplement, not a cureall: Matt describes his CBD as a topical application to help people become more active and mobile, while avoiding the stomach damage that can result from taking NSAIDs like ibuprofen or aspirin. The name One Less CBD refers to taking one less pill. 

[22:08] The goal: Everything One Less sources is made in the U.S. Matt and his team found a supplier who could provide them with 99.99% pure CBD. It was important that there was no THC in their product, so that customers would not experience side effects or fail drug screenings.

[28:06] Full disclosure: A transparent CBD company should provide contact information, indicate whether its products have been tested by an independent third-party, and list where its CBD is available for purchase.

[33:54] The future of CBD: CBD is still trending upward despite a decline during COVID-19 — and Matt predicts that it hasn’t peaked yet.

[36:01] Worth a look: Matt recommends the Original Strength fitness program and the book “Atomic Habits” by James Clear.

[39:34] Special offer: Get a free travel jar of One Less CBD Topical Inflammation Cream. Just pay $4.95 for shipping.

 

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Back Talk Doc is brought to you by Carolina Neurosurgery & Spine Associates, with offices in North and South Carolina. To learn more about Dr. Lakhia and treatment options for back and spine issues, go to backtalkdoc.com. To schedule an appointment with Carolina Neurosurgery & Spine Associates, you can call us at 1-800-344-6716 or visit our website at carolinaneurosurgery.com.