Photo credit: Getty Images
Photo credit: Getty Images
Joint Cannabis Brands, John Ross Ferrell’s (aka Johnny Stallion) company featuring CBD-infused food and beverage products, keeps growing. In addition to cannabidiol (CBD)-infused cold brew and bottled espresso shots, WildFire Cannabis Extract and Bitters and CannaMyst CBD oil, he introduced CBD energy and relaxation shots—Runner’z High and Dreamtime—this past December. Joint Cannabis Brands is an offshoot company of Ferrell’s PhiloÇoffia (pronounced “fill-le-sof-ee-ah”) coffees.
“I call them the yin and yang,” he says. The energy and relaxation liquid shots are sold separately in two-ounce bottles. They also come in capsule form. Runner’z High contains full-spectrum CBD, caffeine, vitamin B12 and medium-chain triglyceride (MCT). It was formulated by Ferrell’s own desire to get an energy boost from something other than coffee. “It has the equivalent of an espresso shot of caffeine,” he says. “It gives you a little perk, and with the CBD, it also gives stress reduction. I really like the combination of CBD and caffeine in the proper ratio.”
Ferrell was inspired to formulate Dreamtime when he talked to friends and family who said they had difficulty sleeping. Using a home capsule-making machine, he made Dreamtime capsules for a friend. “It really helped him, so I just made it into a natural product,” Ferrell says. Dreamtime contains CBD, L-theanine (an amino acid commonly found in tea leaves) and melatonin, a sleep aid. Ferrell emphasizes that the carefully calculated amount of melatonin in Dreamtime is based on research that indicates that less is more.
“If you look at some of the other sleep aids on the market, they contain way too much melatonin, and too much desensitizes the body,” he says, citing research from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “The research behind Dreamtime is incredibly important to me.”
Ferrell puts careful thought into which CBD products he chooses to add to his line. “I wanted something that isn’t just a different label version of something already on the market,” he says. The liquid shots, which have a citrus flavor, retail for less than $4 per single-serving bottle, or about $25 for a bottle of 20 capsules. Ferrell notes that the capsules are a bit stronger than the liquid shots.
As of mid-February, the liquid shots are available at Mor Bakery & Café and Outpost Natural Foods, and the capsules will be on the shelves soon. He is also hoping to get them into gyms and yoga studios and will offer a free sample to those businesses interested in carrying Runner’z High or Dreamtime. Ferrell says he strives to keep Runner’z High and Dreamtime affordable, especially in comparison to CBD tinctures, which can run $40 to $50 or more per bottle—but he thinks that could change due to current oversaturation in the CBD hemp market, particularly in Wisconsin.
“I think prices will come down a quarter or a third of what it is now as more supply comes onto the market, but each state has its own situation” he says. Ferrell sources CBD from multiple places, including Oregon and Colorado, and he’s seeking to partner with Wisconsin farmers. “I want different sources, because I’ve learned that in a supply chain, you have to have multiple different sources; right now, because it’s so fragmented by states, I like to have sources in different places.”
For more information, visit jointcannabisbrands.com.
