Illuminent Aiming to Improve Quality of Life for Young, Old, and Furry

Established in 2014, Illuminent is a hemp-based company founded in California.  Allison Brooks and Ryan Botsch formed the enterprise in response to Botsch’s own discomfort.  Brooks explains…

“What happened was, Ryan has pretty severe chronic back pain and it’s been going on for a long time.  He was seeing a chiropractor about 3 times a week and was still having some pain after that.  So about 3 years in, his chiropractor pulled him aside and said you should try this stuff called CBD.  Being in a lot of pain, he was willing to try just about anything.  The CBD helped him significantly even though at the time, it was still very new so there wasn’t a lot of information about it.”

When opportunity and personal experience reach a crossroads, entrepreneurship is often born and it certainly formed the foundation for the launch of Illuminent.  The pair spoke at Kiwanis Thursday educating folks on hemp, cannabinoids, and how their company is helping folks dealing with a variety of conditions.

Hemp has a well-documented, storied history.  Originally sourced for paper, you may not know the Declaration of Independence was even drafted on hemp paper.  Hemp would later lose favor after economic competition with cotton, timber, and synthetic plastics.  Beyond that, a 1930’s propaganda campaign caused somewhat of a moral panic which many believe led Americans to believe Hemp and Marijuana were the same and would both lower the morality of culture.  Illuminent doesn’t use marijuana.  Botsch explains the compounds the company extracts from hemp.

“The hemp plant contains a lot of CBD and also a lot of the minor cannabinoids that are in our products including CBG, CBC, CBN, so we work with a lot of these minor cannabinoids in our products and we’ve seen tremendous results with them.”

Brooks and Botsch say Illuminent products help in a variety of ways from calming, rest and relaxation to pain relief, alertness, digestion, even energy and focus.  It’s not just for people either.  Illuminent says their top products are out of their pet line; assisting animals with reducing stress as well as providing joint and muscle support, especially helpful to aging pets.

Learn more about the company, located on North Church Street in Carmi by visiting http://www.illuminent.com.  You can also call 384 – 7266.  The store is open Monday – Wednesday 9am – 5pm, Thursdays and Fridays 9am – 8pm, and Saturdays from 11am – 3pm.