phoenixnewtimes.com PHOENIX NEW TIMES FEB 17TH– FEB 23RD, 2022 State Licensed Dispensaries & Doctor Certifications | CANNABIS | OMG Dispensaries want to give your love life more, you know. BY TOM REARDON I f you’re looking to spice up your love life a little bit this Valentine’s Day week, there are some sexy cannabis- infused lubes out there that you may not know about. Verdone Wellness has a product out called OMGX. This water-based personal lubricant contains CBDA, along with all of the natural cannabinoids and terpenes found in the hemp plant. For Joseph Verdone, the Scottsdale- based founder of Verdone Wellness and creator of OMGX, the need to get more in- volved with the medicinal side of CBD and THC ramped up in 2010. Battling cancer, the 63-year-old devised a proprietary way to dissolve all the active ingredients of pot and hemp in water to help relieve his symptoms. So he met with a group of women who were all survivors of various types of can- cers, including cervical and ovarian carci- nomas, and they shared how painful it was for them to menstruate or have sex. Verdone started thinking about what could be done with oils containing CBD and THC to help these women and he began working on a gel to share with his new friends. After doing the necessary research to determine the best methods of absorption into the vaginal walls, Verdone came up with his lubricants. He shared his early results with some of the women he had met and they “overwhelmingly replied,” says Verdone. They told him that not only did his product help with their pain, but it also aided in giving them some of the best or- gasms they ever experienced, Verdone says. Not surprisingly, OMG stands for “Oh My God.” An early prototype is not publicly avail- able because it contains THC. Without partnering with a dispensary or licensed kitchen, Verdone cannot create or sell it for public use. The OMGX variety contains only CBDA and is currently only available on his web- site. Priced at $60 per 15 ml tube, OMGX is priced higher than products like Foria ($44 for 112 ml), Smooth Operator ($48 for 30 ml), and Stoney Yoni ($25 for 15 ml). For comparison, a typical tube of toothpaste is around 130 ml. According to Verdone, although OMGX is manufactured in a FDA-approved facil- ity, it has not been cleared by the U.S Food and Drug Administration. Because he uses Sharon Newbill Joseph Verdone snuggling up with some of his OMGX lubricant. hemp and is not extracting the CBDA from cannabis, he is legally able to sell OMGX in the United States. It’s important to consider how such products work. Foria, for example, has two products, Awaken and Intimacy that con- tain CBD. According to its website, Awaken is designed for women and Intimacy is for anyone. Both are safe to use externally or internally as long as you don’t use them with any latex products. Quim’s Smooth Operator, however, is safe with latex and calls itself a “Serum” according to its website. Like OMGX, the CBD is also derived from hemp and the serum contains aloe vera, as well. Stoney Yoni is an oil-based lubricant for topical use only and is not safe as a lubricant. Douglas MacKenzie over at Marigold Dispensary on Dunlap Avenue says he is offered a 15 percent Valentine’s Day dis- count on the store’s MUV intimacy prod- uct, Ease. This product is also for external use only and not safe with latex products. MacKenzie states, “It’s not a huge mover, but it does contain 150 mg of THC (per package).” Email inboxes were flooded last week with similar offers for subscribers to dis- pensary news. Offers like Curaleaf’s “Pleasure Season” promotion to give away freebies to people who bought a tin of the fast-acting intimacy pill 1906. Regardless of the product you choose, how the CBD and THC compounds enter the bloodstream is key to your satisfaction. “It’s all about the absorption,” says Verdone. “The vaginal mucosal walls are filled with blood and lymphatic vessels, which allows OMGX to absorb into the circulatory system. OMGX is a girl’s next best friend.” He’s not the only one saying it. >> p 37 35
