Our Story
While working as a massage therapist, Dahlia Mertens (founder and CEO) developed a keen interest in achieving wellness through natural healing. She became inspired by natural body product lines that used herbs and essential oils to alleviate aches and pains and she began to wonder if she could create a line of her own.
During a trip to California in the fall of 2009 to help trim cannabis on a weed farm, Dahlia was introduced to a cannabis infused massage oil her friend had mixed up. She had never heard of cannabis or hemp being used topically at the time but to her surprise she experienced benefits shortly after application.
After returning home to Colorado, she began research, experimenting with different recipes for massage oil and salve in her kitchen at home. She came up with a product line that proved effective for many of her clients. She launched Mary Jane’s Medicinals at the end of 2009, which was one of the very first companies to produce cannabis infused topicals in the US.
Ten years later Mary Jane’s Botanicals was created to offer customers a hemp alternative to her cannabis infused line.
The Whole Plant Approach
At Mary Jane’s Botanicals we trust that thousands of years of evolution has created the ideal synergy of beneficial compounds found within the hemp plant, and as a result, we try to leave it in its most natural state. The whole is better than the sum of its parts and that respect for this remarkable plant makes for a more holistic product.
Our gentle infusion process involves utilizing the whole plant which maintains a full spectrum of all the compounds naturally found within the plant such as the cannabinoids, flavonoids, terpenes, and waxes.
These beneficial phytochemicals can get lost in solvent-based extraction processes. Many of our competitors use these extracts and isolates. Our full spectrum oils harness the remarkable potential of the plant. Working together, these compounds create synergies and are more powerful rather than when they are isolated. This is known as the “Entourage Effect.
Produced with respect, care, and passion, Mary Jane’s Botanicals have been conscientiously crafted utilizing the whole hemp plant in combination with many other medicinal herbs and oils.
The Science Behind How Our Products Work
The Endocannabinoid System (ECS)
Endocannabinoids and their receptors are neurotransmitters found throughout the body and make up the Endocannabinoid System or ECS. Found in the central and peripheral nervous systems, organs, glands, layers of skin, connective tissues, and immune system, the ECS is integral for health and survival.
Endocannabinoids are chemicals that your body naturally produces and when they bind with their receptors, they stimulate homeostasis, which is the dynamic way your body stays healthy and balanced, even when faced with severe external stresses. The Endocannabinoid System regulates stress, pain, motivation, emotions, cognition, sex drives, sleep cycles, and many other processes in the human body- you can’t live without it.
Phyto cannabinoids
Mary Jane’s Botanicals topicals and tinctures contain phyto cannabinoids sourced from the hemp plant. Phyto cannabinoids are chemically very similar to the endocannabinoids your own body produces and are found in abundance in the hemp and cannabis plant. You have probably already heard of some of these phyto cannabinoids, such as cannabidiol (CBD) and cannabinol (CBN). More than a hundred cannabinoids have already been discovered, and it’s estimated that there are many more yet to be identified.
When you ingest hemp derived cannabinoids or apply them topically, the phyto cannabinoids will bind to receptors found within your body or the layers of your skin in much the same way your endocannabinoids work. Just as your endocannabinoids stimulate your body to come back to balance, phyto-cannabinoids derived from hemp stimulate the same processes.
The human body has an incredible ability to regenerate and heal itself. The chemicals found in hemp support those processes. Cannabinoids have been reported to relieve a very wide variety of issues because these compounds stimulate your body’s natural ability to self-regulate, thus helping it come back to balance and well-being. Mother Nature sure is fascinating!
