More than 1.3 million people use CBD on a regular basis in the U.K. Jade Proudman is working tirelessly to bring access, and education to those consumers in England and beyond.
CBD oil is sold legally in the U.K, according to the Centre for Medicinal Cannabis (CMC), a nonprofit organization dedicated to research, policy and education.
A study recently conducted by the CMC found that therapeutic use of the cannabinoid is growing rapidly; “The U.K. CBD market is currently growing at double digits and expected to be just short of £1B in 2025. This would be equivalent to the entire U.K. herbal supplement market in 2016.”
But, many of the cannabis-based products on the market aren’t all they are cracked up to be.
In the same CMC report, researchers tested 30 different CBD products available on the market. They found only 11/29 had within 10% of the advertised CBD content. Another 11 products (38%) “actually had less than 50% of the advertised CBD content. One product had 0% CBD,” the CMC concludes.
The results expose regulatory gaps in the CBD market. Jade Proudman, a champion for premium products, transparent brands, and educating the European marketplace about cannabinoids, is an advocate of the work being carried out by the CMC.
Proudman and her husband, Leslie, founded Savage Cabbage in 2016. The storefront in North Yorkshire draws visitors from all over the U.K. to sit on the L-shaped couch for a cuppa and cannabinoid-chat.
“As you walk in, the first thing you see is our beautiful seating area which does encourage people to take a seat and enter into conversation with us, enabling questions to be asked and answered,” says Proudman. The shop often hosts discussion panels or events like cannabinoid awareness sessions and open house coffee mornings.
Savage Cabbage has become well known for such services, which are free.
“I’m proud of that element that we achieved,” she says. “This is not about a sales transaction – it’s about people improving their own wellness through natural means and education.”
This is Proudman’s ethos; she’s a problem solver who is not driven by the bottom dollar, but by the need to share her story in order to help others.
Savage Cabbage is an official U.K./E.U. retailer of Myriam’s Hope, and Charlotte’s Web whole-plant hemp extracts — the same product that changed Proudman’s life.
In 2012, Proudman fell “very sick, very quickly,” she says. “My entire life changed in a very few short space of time. I ended up in a hospital fighting for my life.”
Proudman suffers from fibromyalgia and spinal myoclonus epilepsy, bowel disease, in addition to a host of other conditions, which once left her bedridden, and reliant on medications including morphine.
“I was very much dependent on pharmaceutical options to exist because I couldn’t manage,” she explains. “I spent a year in and out of hospitals. I had 10 very big surgeries, and had some internal organs removed.”
Proudman’s health struggles left her housebound and with permanent disabilities — it also cost her her job with Children and Young People’s services in North Yorkshire.
She became depressed. “I just didn’t want to be here anymore.”
Little did Proudman know, her life was about to take another drastic change.
One night, Proudman and her husband — who she credits for keeping her going — watched the CNN documentary, Weed, with Sunjay Gupta. That was Proudman’s first introduction to Charlotte’s Web.
The film follows the stories of patients including Charlotte Figi. “Charlotte suffered from a severe form of epilepsy called Dravet’s Syndrome. She suffered over 300 grand mal seizures a day and by the age of five had failed all pharmaceutical options,” according to CW Hemp, and the Stanely Brothers, who developed the now globally sought-after strain.
“The Charlotte’s Web products were created for her, her seizures have since drastically reduced, quality of life has improved, and the rest is documented history,” adds the Stanely Brothers’ site.
Because Proudman also suffers seizures, she wondered whether CBD oil “could help me in any shape or form.” Although it wasn’t easy — they managed to acquire some CW Hemp Oil. Within 48 hours of using it for the first time, Proudman was morphine free.
“At the time, I didn’t know how it worked or why it worked, or what the endocannabinoid system (ECS) was… any of those things.” she says, “I took a very steep learning journey.”
Today, Proudman is a prominent advocate for CBD in the U.K. Her company reaches customers in approximately 60 different countries.
Proudman no longer takes any pharmaceutical medications. “I stopped 14 different medications — I just use my CBD and a host of other vitamins and minerals.”
“That’s how Savage Cabbage came to be,” Proudman says, “I knew there were other people like me who felt lost, who felt really kind of is this it? Is this my only option?”
“When I started this, I had no idea really what I’d be doing… I just knew I needed to speak to people and help people get ahold of something that was difficult to get ahold of,” she explains. “That brought its own challenges which I worked through,” by building a strong relationship with CW Hemp, and eventually, Myriams’s Hope — the two products she uses.
“I never came into this space as an advocate for cannabis,” she explains, “I always thought drugs were bad. As soon as I discovered the health that I had so desperately missed for so many years, I was like… I get it now.”
That gave her the drive to tackle negatives and misconceptions head-on. “I come from a place of understanding. I can relate to people who are scared, who think this is a drug… I once felt the same way,” she says.
She is the first to admit that she isn’t a medical expert. This us why the Savage Cabbage team guides customers to organizations like the Realm of Caring, a nonprofit committed to research.
Proudman knows the industry is plagued with misinformation and questionable businesses that prey on patients in need for the sake of a sale.
“There have been a lot of times when I’ve been at a show, and someone will come to me and say, “I’ve got this problem, and I got this product off the internet. It makes me feel a little bit sick, but I’ve been told it’s good for me,” Proudman explains.
She keeps an “amnesty” bin handy for these instances. ”I just let people throw their stuff in if they don’t know exactly where it came from, what’s in it, or haven’t got a certificate of analysis.”
Proudman will, in turn, swap their product for a certified brand. “I say, let’s try something of quality, and If you feel a positive effect from that, then let’s have a conversation, and see how we can help you,” Proudman explains. “If somebody makes something rubbish in their bathtub, shoves it into a bottle and gives it to somebody,” it can cause a bad experience, and turn someone off from CBD altogether.
“It’s all about the source, origin, and quality,” Proudman adds, ”If you’re helping someone with the learning experience, they become a really big ambassador of their own.”
Her approach is holistic and based on a style of shared or joint learning — a topic in which Proudman earned a Master’s degree in.
Proudman works with legislative and regulatory bodies, including the CMC, to advocate for research and education for the millions of consumers in the U.K.
She is a representative member of the CMC, this membership allows her to discuss and create ideas with other industry leaders.
The CMC works with government and nongovernment agencies to build a regulatory framework for the medical cannabis and CBD industries. The organization recently joined forces with the award-winning consultancy group Global Regulatory Services (GRS) to develop the framework needed for the U.K. government, and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).
The EFSA recently classified cannabinoids as “novel foods,” or foods “that had not been consumed to a significant degree by humans in the EU before 15 May 1997.” The classification requires foods containing CBD to meet certain standards to be fully legal.
Although reactions to the classification of cannabinoids as novel foods are mixed, Proudman believes it’s a positive step toward ensuring quality access.
There are millions of registered daily users of CBD in this country, Proudman explains. “That’s a significant portion of our population. It will only get bigger. It would be nice to see a regulated, accessible, professional industry that can spend money on [awareness] so we can start educating the populous.”
Proudman has made major strides in access to CBD for U.K. residents. As she moves forward, she will pass the torch to her team at Savage Cabbage, and resign her role as CEO of the company by year’s end.
She’ll transition into her new role ‘Brand Advisor and Consultancy’. The position will allow her to expand her reach and continue to advocate for the same products that changed her life.
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