“Our mission statement is higher quality, higher education, higher ethics — for a higher understanding,” continued Lester. “A lot of people are just finding out what CBD and THC and not only cannabis, but (what) hemp can do and the products that are made from them.”

Lester explained that the two most common cannabinoids or compounds found in hemp and cannabis that are responsible for the effects humans feel from them are CBD and THC. CBD is known for being the medical medicinal compound that is non-psychoactive, meaning it does not cause a high or euphoria.

“CBD is advertised as providing relief for anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder. It is also marketed to promote sleep. Part of CBD’s popularity is that it purports to be ‘nonpsychoactive,’ and that consumers can reap health benefits from the plant without the high (or the midnight pizza munchies).”

Lester explained the strength of CBDs.

“Although the products we have contain less than .3 percent Delta 9 (THC). The THC compound is typically found in medical and recreational cannabis, through the extraction of oil from the hemp flour that has been processed, they are able to get delta 8 THC and other forms of hemp-derived THC.”

At Black Bear, customers 18 and over (21 and older for Delta 8 products) can get the product they desire without a medical card or doctor’s recommendation.

“All of our products come from legal hemp and are lab tested and high quality most of them were grown right here in Pennsylvania. By shopping with us, you’re supporting local farmers and that’s a beautiful thing,” states the Black Bear website.

This is all legal thanks to the 2018 Federal Farm Bill, and Lester cautioned that all CBDs are not the same.

“Hemp products are not all made the same,” Lester continued. “They can be made in production facilities that maybe are not using the best practices. We only carry products that are third-party lab tested, which means they’re going through a lab test that is going to check for not only the potency of the product, but also making sure that there’s no residual toxins, no solvents that are used in the extraction method left behind in these products.

“We’re really there to help educate people. We’re not a gas station or a smoke shop that happens to carry some hemp-derived products. We truly specialize in these products, and what we feel we do differently is that we model ourselves like a medical or recreational cannabis dispensary. We offer transparent information for our customers to help them understand how the products work and to make educated decisions on their own, to empower them, to understand how everything is going to work for them, and to help them live a better quality of life.”

Co-Founder Jesse Worsk and Lester have over 15 years of combined experience working in the professional medical marijuana industry.

“We bring our knowledge of all things cannabis and hemp-related to assist our customers in finding the products that are right for them in an environment that makes them feel comfortable with the team they can trust.”

Darrin and Rebecca Brooks are also co-founders of Black Bear.

Darrin built the Brookville facility for the medical marijuana grower/processor there, as well as many that have medical marijuana dispensaries throughout the state.

Recreational use of marijuana is against the law in Pennsylvania, but Lester said that she could see that changing within the next five years.

“The state of Pennsylvania hasn’t moved forward with making cannabis adult-use and recreationally legal. However, there is a bill that has been proposed. Adult use of recreational cannabis is the first bill to have bipartisan support. So, there’s a Democrat and Republican that are backing this bill. That’s the first time that’s ever happened. It’s just a matter of getting more people on each side to see the benefits that that could be provided for our state and hoping that they then move forward with it.”

In terms of the impact of using some CBD’s, compared to having a couple of glasses of wine, Lester admitted that some people can overdo it on the products, as well as medical marijuana products.

“No one has ever overdosed from THC, whether it’s medical, recreational, or hemp-derived, but what’ll happen is you might get the munchies.

“You have to be careful when you do have THC products in your home and that you keep them somewhere that is safe and away from the children or pets, because you don’t want them to ingest those types of products because it is too much for the dogs in particular that we’re talking about right now.”