A cause has become a second business for Sondra Stephens and her son, Anthony Kaczmarek.
Stephens, who opened Sondra’s Fine Jewelry in Schenectady more than 22 years ago, and Kaczmarek opened Green Leaf Wellness Co. last December. They will be moving into their new clinical environment, which they have built adjacent to the Jewelry Store located at 1624 Union St., on Saturday, Oct. 12, which will be their soft opening.
Green Leaf Wellness Co. offers CBD in a variety of forms, including oil tincture, gummies, gel capsules, teas, salve, beauty product, pet products, and CBD Flower, to name a few. “We have full spectrum CBD, which consists of all parts of the [hemp] plant, broad spectrum CBD and CBD isolate, which remove the THC” said Kaczmarek. “All of our 3rd Party Lab Results are on hand and at your disposal” Kaczmarek added. Green Leaf Wellness Co. only sells CBD Products of the highest quality, American grown, organic and safely extracted.
Green Leaf Wellness Co. grew out of Stephens’ and Kaczmarek’s advocacy for legalization medical marijuana for epileptic children and cancer patients in New York. “We have always supported women’s and children’s health issues since our inception in 1997,” said Stephens.
“When Colorado came to the Capitol to talk about their experiences with legalizing medical cannabis, we were there to listen,” said Kaczmarek.
Their involvement took another step forward last year when they began carrying Genifer M Luxury Cannabis Jewelry, developed by Dr. Genifer Murray – the lead microbiologist on the Charlotte’s Web Project. This project is critical to the overall acceptance of CBD and medical marijuana as a viable, mainstream therapy. The jewelry was created to bring awareness and show support for medical cannabis in a discreet and classy way, in the shape of THC and CBD molecules. Sondra’s was the first fine jewelry store in the nation to carry this beautiful line as it had only been previously showcased in dispensaries on the West Coast.
On a conference call last December with Dr. Murray, she jokingly asked them why they were not carrying her family’s CBD oil. “We took 10 bottles of her family’s oil, called Desert Azee full spectrum CBD oil, which remains our flagship brand to this day,” said Kaczmarek. “We put it on a shelf next to the diamonds and the journey began.”
They then broke ground on a six-figure investment to Upper Union Street in Schenectady, fueled by their passion for helping the community, and the overwhelming need for a safe, legitimate, legal clinic for people to purchase their CBD with full transparency and confidence. The next level in their growth recently took place with the acquisition of the Charlotte’s Web brand of CBD oil, which was just issued the first patent for a hemp strain in history.
CBD has seen a rapid growth in the United States, fueled by studies that show that hemp-derived oil has helped patients dealing with a variety of ailments, such as pain and inflammation, stress and anxiety, depression and insomnia just to name a few. This is why he and his mother felt strongly about opening Green Leaf Wellness Co. Stephens emphasized that CBD oil isn’t a cure-all for every ailment, but she added that the benefits are only just beginning to be fully recognized by researchers.
“We are pioneers in this industry, doing cutting edge work and we are focused on what the future holds for this amazing plant,” said Stephens.
