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.
Our Team
- Dahlia MertensCEO/Owner - Read MoreAbout Dahlia Mertens
Dahlia’s successful cannabis infused topical company Mary Jane’s Medicinals, which she founded in 2009 inspired the creation of Mary Jane’s Botanicals. The efficacy of her cannabis infused products created demand all across the country, but due to strict legal restrictions her products containing THC could only be sold in dispensaries in Colorado. This is why she felt the need to create a line of hemp products that could be shipped nationally. Before launching Mary Jane’s Medicinals, Dahlia worked as a massage therapist, which lead her to create her first product- a cannabis infused massage oil. She holds a degree in Theater from the University of Colorado Boulder and earned her certification as a massage therapist from the Connecting Point School of Massage. Dahlia sees a bright future for the potential of cannabis and hemp infused products to improve the quality of many people’s lives worldwide.
- Jonna PiiraCFO - Read MoreAbout Jonna Piira
After getting her MBA, Jonna started her career in finance as the Director of Finance in the medical diagnostics sector. She continued her career as a CFO in the hand tool and frozen food industries. She has a passion for entrepreneurship, finance, and operations within B2B and DTC companies. She has worked with multiple fast growing start-ups helping with the growth cycle and helping to achieve successful exits.
- Emilie EpelmanDirector Of Sales - Read MoreAbout Emilie Epelman
Emilie is an experienced leader with over 20 years of sales experience in both corporate and start up environments. She enjoys team driven work environments where collaboration brings out the best in everyone involved! She has a ‘get it done’ mentality and enjoys problem solving. When Emilie, her husband and two young kids moved to Colorado three years ago from NYC, she was determined to transition from corporate to cannabis and has been spreading the benefits of the plant ever since. In her free time she enjoys cooking, hiking and traveling.
- Deb GesmundoInventory & Metric Specialist - Read MoreAbout Deb Gesmundo
Deb grew up in Michigan, obtained her degree in Education with a major in mathematics and a minor in physics and chemistry from the University of Michigan, and then served two years with the Peace Corps in Gabon, Africa. Since 1992, she has been a member of the Telluride community and a radio deejay, deb-on-air doing her radio addiction show, on Telluride's local radio station, KOTO. She has also raised two sons in the valley and has volunteered for just about everything possible within the community of events that take place in and around Telluride. Her passions include the French language, sewing, her cat, and baking award winning pies!
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!
