Skip to content

A town square for an unsquare town

redbankgreen

Standing for the vitality of Red Bank, its community, and the fun we have together.

RED BANK: HEMP-BASED CBD SHOP OK’D

red-bank-192-shrewsbury-cbd-life-081019-2-500x375-4063218CBD For Life plans to open in the former Katsin’s Drugs at 192 Shrewsbury Avenue. (Photo by Trish Russoniello. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot-topic_01-220x161-3262222A high-profile Red Bank building that’s been vacant for 15 years has been cleared for a new tenant: a seller of trendy CBD-based health and beauty products, redbankgreen has learned.

A retail shop called CBD For Life was approved August 1 by the borough planning office to open in the former Katsin’s Drugs building at 192 Shrewsbury Avenue, documents show.

CBD stands for cannabidiol, an ingredient in both hemp and its related plant, marijuana, though it does not cause users to get high, according to Harvard Health Publishing.

Following an initial denial, the borough planning office granted approval of the store after the applicant provided documentation that its hemp-derived products are below the threshold level for THC, the psychotropic ingredient in cannabis.

“All of our CBD is derived from organically grown hemp and contain 0% THC,” company vice president and general manager Julie Winter told the borough by email. “There will be absolutely no marijuana or marijuana derived extracts (distinguished from hemp as containing more than .3% Delta-9 THC) sold at this location.”

“Only CBD products derived from hemp are permitted,” the approval states. “CBD products derived from cannabis are not permitted as the property is within the drug free school zone.”

The June 25 application, filed by a building contractor, says the store will sell “natural, luxurious and effective CBD infused pain and beauty products.” Winter did not immediately respond to a redbankgreen request for more information Tuesday; we’ll update this post with her comments, if any are offered.

CBD has been getting boosts from lawmakers and consumers amid a widespread loosening of laws regarding marijuana growth and possession, though inconsistencies in enforcement abound.

A farm bill passed by Congress and signed into law last December by President Trump removed a federal ban on hemp production and possession of CBD products from hemp legal as long as they contain no more than .3-percent THC.

And New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy last Friday signed a law that allows hemp to be grown in the state by farmers who register and submit their crops for periodic testing of THC levels.

Separately, a push for legalization of marijuana in the Garden State lost momentum and stalled earlier this year.

Amid a wide array of claimed health benefits that include stress reduction, and alleviation of chronic pain and menstrual cramps, products infused with CBD have been proliferating as sales have burgeoned.

Red Bank-based CBD For Life, which makes “creams, liquids and sprays, selling both online and in more than 1,000 retailers nationwide,” is “trying to keep up with an expansion that includes 25 new retailers a week,” the Asbury Park Press reported last month.

Toss’d, restaurant slated to open on Monmouth Street, plans to have CBD-infused items on its menu, owner Nick Napoletano told redbankgreen last month.

The efficacy of some CBD claims is disputed, however, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration last month issued a warning to a Massachusetts company for “illegally selling unapproved products containing cannabidiol (CBD) online with unsubstantiated claims that the products treat cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, opioid withdrawal, pain and pet anxiety, among other conditions or diseases.”

CBD For Life, was founded by Beth Stavola of Middletown and acquired by iAnthus Capital Holdings of New York for $10.4 million in June, according to the Press.

Stavola remained with the company as chief strategy officer, and has moved its offices from her home into the Galleria Red Bank, where it has about two dozen employees, the Press said.

According to an archived Atlanticville article, Katsin’s closed in 2004 after 86 years of operation, the last 70 on the West Side. A free-standing vertical sign in classic neon channel letters remains on the site.

The borough approval states that “no additional exterior/façade alterations or signs proposed or approved at this time.”

Monmouth County property records show Steve Goodman bought the property, at the corner of Catherine Street, in late 2017 for $310,000.

Remember: Nothing makes a Red Bank friend happier than to hear "I saw you on Red Bank Green!"
redbankgreen Classics
Partyline
MAILBOXES HEAD TO HISTORY’S SCRAP HEAP
Sign of the digital age: mailboxes hauled away from Red Bank post office to storage.
HOVERING CHOPPER
What’s going on here? Last Sunday. Hovering around for quite a while. (Photo and text by Partyline contributor Rosaleen Perry)   ...
RBMS HOOPS CHAMPS HONORED
The Red Bank Middle School girls basketball team is honored for their championship season. (click for more)
NAVESINK SUNSET
Sunset sunburst over Riverside Gardens Park (photo by Partyline contributor Thomas Doremus)
RIVERSIDE SUNSET
Sunday’s sunset shot from Riverside Gardens Park. (Photo by Partyline contributor Thomas Doremus) —
MARINE PARK SUNSET
Stunning sunset from Red Bank's Marine Park.
GULLS AND GRAY OVER MOLLY PITCHER INN
On a cold rainy spring day, bulls soared high above the Navesink River and the golden cupola of Red Bank's Molly Pitcher Inn.
Red Bank Commuters Enjoy Stunning Sunrise Over Navesink River
Thursday morning sunrise over the Navesink River, a commuter view from NJ Transit Train 3320. (photo by Partyline contributor Karly Swaim) & ...
SUNRISE OVER MONMOUTH STREET
Sunrise over Monmouth Street Thursday morning (photo by Partline contributor Thomas Doremus)
FINAL STRAW FOR MARINE PARK REMAKE
Workers place a straw covering over the now-dirt (soon to be grass) stretch of Marine Park that had been an asphalt parking lot for generati ...
DEER IN RED BANK
Dear Friends –Original before GPT– Deer Friends
GHOSTBUSTERS ON MONMOUTH STREET
Ghostbusters vehicle spotted on Monmouth Street. (photo by Partyline contributor Roseann DalPra)
BOAT CLUB AND BATTLESHIP GREY
Monmouth Boat Club under the past weekend’s clouds. (Photo by Partyline contributor Thomas Doremus)    
CURBSIDE BLOOMS
Broad Street beautified. (photo and text by Partyline contributor Boris Kofman)  
NEW MURAL TAKES SHAPE AT CANNABIS SHOP
Red Bank artist Michael White, donning a hat fitting for the day of the New York Mets’ home opener, works on a new mural at Canopy Cro ...
CHERRY BLOSSOMS ABOUND IN RED BANK
Cherry blossoms are everywhere! (photo and text by Partyline contributor Boris Kofman)  
DOWNTOWN RED BANK ON A FRIDAY AFTERNOON
Downtown on a Friday afternoon. (partyline Photo by Thomas Doremus)  
LIGHTS ON THE NAVESINK
Thursday’s post-sunset clouds over the Navesink (Partyline photo by Thomas Doremus)  
A SPRING IN THE STEP
A man walks carrying a bouquet of flowers beneath the blooming trees in Red Bank. (Partyline photo by John T. Ward)  
ROWING INTO SPRING
Beyond the magnolia trees in full bloom at the Red Bank Library, the Navesink River Rowing Advanced Youth Program heads out for their weekda ...