A CBD store has opened in the domestic terminal at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, selling hemp-based products.

The SunMed Your CBD Store opened in early August next to the main checkpoint at the Atlanta airport, replacing a vending machine spot.

There’s also a SunMed on Concourse D at Hartsfield-Jackson, opened earlier this year.

CBD, or cannabidiol, is a chemical that is federally legal when it comes from hemp, a cousin to marijuana, with no more than 0.3% THC, the mind-altering substance in marijuana.

SunMed sells hemp-based tinctures, serums, edibles, supplements, topical treatments, bath bombs, sprays, and other beauty products.

The company has more than 400 locations around the country, including about 37 in metro Atlanta, but Hartsfield-Jackson is its first airport location. The company has a sublease with longtime Atlanta airport concessionaire Business Traveler Services.

Aug. 31, 2023 Atlanta: Sunmed | Your CBD Store has opened at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. Such products are already sold in stores across Georgia but state officials emphasize that the FDA still prohibits the use of CBD oil in food and dietary supplements. CBD is derived from hemp, a cousin of the marijuana plant that only contains a trace amount of THC. THC is what gives marijuana users a high. But the CBD products won’t be cheap. Changing laws that vary by state and differing levels of enforcement depending on the jurisdiction create gray areas for CBD particularly for travel. (John Spink / John.Spink@ajc.com)

Credit: John Spink/AJC

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Credit: John Spink/AJC

Tony Bryan, SunMed’s chief development officer, said the target market for the airport locations is travelers who are stressed, anxious, and “focused on modern wellness.” Bryan said the company sells to people who are 21 and older and has warnings that people traveling outside the U.S. should check the laws of the destination country.

Bryan said having a presence at the world’s busiest airport is great for exposure “to as many people as possible.”

“We have customers that didn’t know we even existed, and then they see us at the airport, and then they show up.... at the SunMed near them” in their hometown.

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