• courtesy of green mountain CBD
• Hemp growing at Green Mountain CBD

On July 20, Burlington's Monarch & the Milkweed café made news when it began selling cannabidiol (CBD)-infused truffles. The next day, Green Goddess Café announced that it, too, would start selling smoothies, fresh-pressed juices, lattes, baked goods and other snacks containing CBD in August.

The Stowe restaurant is best known for its wholesome, often organic breakfasts and lunches. Co-owner Athena Scheidet said she and her husband and Green Goddess co-owner, Tim Callahan, decided to bring cannabidiol to their kitchen after observing the compound's dramatic effects on their nonverbal autistic son.

After the oil relieved Scheidet's menstrual cramps and anxiety, and Callahan's chronic pain and inflammation, the couple "decided that we had to just pull the trigger [and offer this to our café customers]," Scheidet said.

A cannabinoid compound extracted from hemp, CBD engages the body's endocannabinoid system, which helps regulate everything from mood to sex drive to immune function to pain responses. Applied studies involving the endocannabinoid system and related compounds are few, however, and the U.S. Food & Drug Administration hasn't approved CBD for any particular clinical use. It's generally still administered — like many herbal or other home remedies — by private citizens rather than medical professionals.

At Green Goddess, the raw cannabinoid comes from Green Mountain CBD in Hardwick, which grows organic hemp and then extracts the CBD and adds it to organic coconut oil. Hemp contains less than 0.3 percent tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the source of marijuana's mood-altering qualities. So CBD won't get you high, and it's legal for public use in Vermont — whether in your truffles or your morning latte.