Pictured: Holly James, general manager, and Shelby Isaacson, co-owner, inside Second and Seed. Photo courtesy of Second and Seed.

Two days before starting a new job, and after dropping her son off at school for the day, Shelby Isaacson turned onto Webber Street, her daughter buckled in the back of the car. She felt a pain in her head, but didn’t think much of it. “The next thing I knew,” Isaacson says, “I was driving over the curb before crossing Tuttle Avenue.” She had passed out. Then the migraines began.

Physically debilitating and unrelenting, it took six months for a diagnosis of chronic migraine syndrome, and then came a year of ever-increasing doses of anti-epileptic medications and muscle relaxants. “I started thinking about what my life would look like five, ten, 20 years on these medications,” says Isaacson. She turned to CBD oil—extracts made from the hemp plant, and growing in popularity across the nation as a remedy for everything from anxiety and depression to chronic pain and inflammation. “Within one month,” she says, “I was able to get off my other medications and feel ‘normal’ again.”

A staunch advocate of therapeutic CBD, Isaacson today celebrates the opening of her new CBD boutique, Second and Seed. Named for its location off Second Street in Downtown Sarasota, and co-owned by Chip Jackson, Second and Seed is the latest entry in the CBD trend hitting Sarasota—but perhaps the only with such singular focus.

Within the charming house-turned-apothecary—which has more the air (if not aroma) of a neighborhood bakery than pharmacist or potionmaster—Isaacson and her crew lead visitors through a selection of varied CBD offerings, each tailored to a particular need, all the while answering all the questions that come with a product that many mistakenly conflate with getting high. “It’s the decaffeinated version,” Isaacson jokes. There’s no high from hemp, she says, “but you get all the medicinal benefits.”

And those benefits vary, says Isaacson, depending on the person and the CBD oil. Second and Seed offers the Curve line of CBD oils—the original line and still a favorite—for sore muscles, while the Brahma line remains the purest, made of CBD and a “carrier” oil, typically avocado or coconut, and is particularly good for anxiety. Another line infuses citrus flavors for a smoother experience (or mixing into cocktails) and another is designed for pets, helping with thunder anxiety or problems traveling. Sold primarily in dropper bottles, Second and Seed recommends beginning with a minimal dose, placed underneath the tongue. From there, it’s up to the individual to decide what dose works best for them. Another line, Rx 1776, pays homage to the founding and the fight for freedom. "And the Constitution was written on hemp paper," quips Isaacson.

But no matter the dose, Isaacson says she can assure every customer of the quality and authenticity of the product, even in the absence of FDA regulation. A “farm to extract” operation, Isaacson keeps close contact with the farm in Eaton, Colorado where she gets her hemp, and every batch of CBD is tested three times before hitting shelves. “Sometimes you have no idea what you’re buying,” she says, “but here we’re all about transparency.”

Pictured: Holly James, general manager, and Shelby Isaacson, co-owner, inside Second and Seed. Photo courtesy of Second and Seed.