SHELDON—April Kruger wants to set the record straight on cannabidiol or CBD for short: It does not get you high but it can help you.

The Sheldon woman sells CBD and hemp byproducts out of a rented office downtown inside of Fusion Workspace under the name of CBD with April.

As a user of the products, Kruger is more interested in clearing up rumors and teaching the health benefits of the hemp plant rather than simply making a buck.

“I have people who come and talk to me about what they are using and there’s some great products out there but there are some really dangerous products out there too that brand themselves as CBD,” Kruger said.

“My goal in this is more just to help people with their discomforts and issues that they have, no matter who they buy it from.”

During a pop-up event in July, Kruger had people drop by with their questions and she has a sign in front of her house advertising her wares but also asking people to call her to learn more about CBD.

Kruger’s list of CBD and hemp offerings is long.

“Anything from face masks to CBD oils, shampoo — pretty much anything that can help your body externally and internally I have a product for,” Kruger said.

Her supplier even offers hemp-infused coffee and CBD dog treats.

While hemp and marijuana are in the same plant family, legal hemp in Iowa must not contain more than .3 percent of THC, the main psychoactive chemical of the plant, which is what gets people high.

“The big slogan that you’ll hear with CBD is ‘Some people want to get healthy; not high,’” Kruger said.

Kruger, who also works full-time, started selling CBD and hemp products on the side about six months ago.

However, before she started marketing the wares, Kruger tried them out for about a year after a recommendation.

“I had a former employee who I just saw this huge change in, so I reached out to her just to see what she’s doing differently and it was CBD,” Kruger said. “So I bought some from her, tried it for two months just absolutely loved how it changed my mindset.

“It got rid of almost all of my anxious thoughts, so I didn’t feel like I was continually talking myself out of doing things — got rid of that — just made me more confident overall and took care of all of my discomfort that I was experiencing from joint paint to nerve pain.”

An April 2018 article by Dr. Peter Grinspoon published on the Harvard Medical School blog, where he also teaches, notes CBD shows strong scientific evidence for helping treat childhood epilepsy syndromes.

Grinspoon’s article also noted CBD is commonly used to treat anxiety and insomnia and goes on to note it has been proven to lower pain and arthritis inflammation in animals, but more study is needed in humans.

Kruger’s own experience with CBD is why she swears by the benefits of it and why she wants to help others.

“I was sold and I was just looking at all the people in my life that could benefit from it so I just decided to take on the taboo subject that is CBD and start educating people about it,” Kruger said.

The mother of two noted even her children noticed a difference in her after she started using CBD products.

“My kids have commented on how much happier I am all the time — not that I was a mean mom before or anything, but apparently I’m a little more fun now,” Kruger said.

“I’ve gotten compliments at my full-time job at how much confidence I am with my decisions than I used to be, which is huge.