Wesley Grantham squatted near a swarm of bees on a birdbath in his backyard. A few buzzed lazily by him.
“Whenever they swarm like this, their bellies are full of honey and things, so they won’t try to sting you,” Grantham said.
Grantham is a beekeeper in Winterville, just outside Oglethorpe County. He’s been working with bees his entire life, and has made a business tending to bees kept by farmers to pollinate crops and by selling THC-infused raw honey through his company, Mellow Bear Honey.
THC is the psychoactive ingredient in cannabis. No law prohibits Delta-8, which is less concentrated than its illegal cousin, Delta-9, from being sold to and consumed by people over the age of 21 in Georgia.
Grantham said he hasn’t received much criticism for selling THC-infused honey, even though cannabis can be a hot-button political issue. He advertises his business on Facebook, on his truck and sells his products at fall festivals.
Grantham said he is the first person in the country to make THC-infused raw honey. He has the Delta-8 tested in a lab in Colorado and then has it shipped to him, where it’s tested again. He then infuses the oil into the honey with an organic liquid emulsifier.
“I can’t, like, make any health claims about it, but the honey itself is medicinal,” Grantham said. “And I’ve seen it firsthand how much (the THC honey) helps people.”
Grantham has several testimonials on his website, where people tout the benefits of his THC honey. One customer discussed how the honey helped her with chronic pain and anxiety.
“Was introduced to Mellow Bear personally by the owner almost a year ago, when I was at a point in my condition (chronic pain, ddd, fibromyalgia, anxiety disorder ) where I was desperate for any kind of relief..Dr's & meds were not helping, I felt like there was no light at the end of the tunnel,” the review states.
“I felt immediate relief from the first time I used this product & consistently experience the benefits as well when taking it regularly. I have considerably less pain, mobility has improved greatly, daily headaches have ceased all together. The benefits & the improvement have been so incredible that I am no longer relying on any prescribed meds (that very little to nothing).”
Grantham said he’s never purchased a bee. He uses lemongrass oil to mimic the pheromones of queen honeybees, which lures them in a swarm. He then scoops them into a box, takes care of them and they provide him with honey.
Grantham hopes to plant a field of hemp so his bees can use the pollen to create natural hemp-pollinated honey. For now, though, Grantham continues to grow his business.
“It’s just a lot of fun, and it’s fun doing it and working with (the bees),” he said.