We live in a culture where the first impression is the only impression. Forget living up to the hype, not creating a hype could spell doomsday for a product’s shelf-life. So there’s little surprise that celebs are always called in whenever a product like CBD needs promotion.
The common wisdom goes; if celebs have used something and felt satisfied, it must be good. Something endorsed by the celebs gets a makeover – a sort of invisible packaging that creates a stark contrast between it and other run-of-the-mill, thus bland products.
But what if something is endorsed by the celebs not because they have been paid to, but because they used it themselves and got benefited? Yes, I am talking about CBD. The list of celebs who consume and recommend CBD is huge. This is a boon for CBD’s marketing prospect. Some of them are:
Morgan Freeman
His mannerism and brooding voice earned him a special place in Hollywood. Freeman’s love for CBD is no secret, yet many of fans are unaware of his penchant for CBD. Circa 2008, freshly after a horrific motor accident, Freeman was suffering from excruciating pain in his left shoulder and arm. Medicines didn’t give him any relief. That’s when he began using raw marijuana and cannabis products and found relief in no time.
Back then, he was not an avid CBD enthusiast. But he gradually became one. In his own words, “I have fibromyalgia pain in this arm, and the only thing that offers any relief is marijuana.” Freeman’s problem was chronic pain. Alongside CBD, Freeman was also using THC. He attributed his recovery of pain to both cannabinoids.
Tommy Chong
Chong is not well known in the US. But any Canadian can recognize him almost immediately. He’s had a decade-long prolific career in the music industry. Chong is also a comedian and quite good at it.
Marijuana legalization has been a loaded issue in Canada until recently when they’ve finally decided to decriminalize it. Chong’s support for marijuana legalization is no secret as he has always been vocal on this issue. His love for CBD and cannabis, in general, is driven by personal reasons alongside ideological reasons.
He had prostate cancer in 2012. A month later his diagnosis, he publicly announced that he was 99% cancer free. He credited weed for his recovery. In his own words, he “beat cancer’s ass” with pot. His consumption of CBD and raw weed not simply freed him from pain and led him to the path of recovery but also supplied him with the nutrition he needed. He puts it this way “Well, the pot gives you the munchies, and the munchies give you nourishment you need for your body.”
Whoopi Goldberg
She doesn’t need any introduction, does she? Well, she does. We recognize her just as a Hollywood celebrity, she needs recognition for her entrepreneurial spirit as well. How Whoopi Goldberg as an entrepreneur has to do with CBD or pot?
She has been a cannabis advocate for a very long time, decades to be precise. A range of health issues including glaucoma, stress and chronic pain drove her to use cannabis. She used a vape pen and got rid of pain and other ailments.
Next, she took a giant step. She entered the medical marijuana market as an entrepreneur. Coupled with Maya Elisabeth, she set up a company called Maya & Whoopi. The company eyes at the middle-aged woman who suffer from menstrual cramps as their niche customers. Their product line includes CBD balms, tincture, edible oil and bath soak.
Whoopi has described her products as “For me, I feel like if you don’t want to get high, this is a product specifically just to get rid of the discomfort.” From the description alone, it seems the products have high CBD and low THC.
Michael J. Fox
Do you know Marty from Back to the Future suffered from Parkinson’s Disease – a rare disease that damages part of the brain? Is it cause unknown? Probably not. Fox was diagnosed back in the late 80s when his career was reaching its peak.
Thankfully, Parkinson’s Disease is a slow burner and it takes time for it to cause substantial damage. Fox had a lot of time to offset its negative effects and he did so with the help of CBD. What’s interesting is CBD’s effectiveness against Parkinson’s Disease is not clinically established. It’s anecdotally supported. Some hold CBD escalates the dopamine level which counterbalances the ill effects of PD.
CBD helped Fox improve his health. After he recovered from PD, he created the Michael J. Fox foundation – a non-profit organization aimed at preventing Parkinson’s Disease. Till date, the organization has invested a staggering $650 million for research on PD and how CBD can prevent its onset. Clearly, Fox is not just another celeb who has used CBD at some point. He committed to exploring the medical usability of CBD.
Summing up
Celebrities are humans too. Millions of people around the world are benefiting from CBD and it’s reasonable that they are one of those people.