Vallejo business provides the medicinal benefits of cannabis without the high

By Rachel Raskin-Zrihen

rzrihen@timesheraldonline.com @RachelVTH on Twitter

Pianta Tinta means “plant tincture” in Italian, and that’s what they make at Pianta Tinta, Elizabeth Knight said. Plus her partner, Kathy Acquistapace is Italian and the name sounds nice.

So Pianta Tinta it is.

Knight and Acquistapace opened their cannabis medicine collective as a nonprofit, offering free membership to anyone in need. But there are forms to fill out, and records are kept.

But, Pianta Tinta is not your average corner pot club, the women said.

These two women create tinctures from cannabis, by extracting with alcohol, the medicinal cannabidol (CBD) from the plant, leaving behind the THC, which is the part of the marijuana plant that causes intoxication, they said.

Anyone with a valid doctor’s recommendation and a photo ID who signs up for the collective can buy a $45 dropper bottle, choosing from several types that are formulated to address various problems, the women said.

“It’s effective in managing pain, it lowers blood sugar and inflammation and its calming effect is useful in the treatment of stress-related disorders,” said Knight, a “Reconnective Healing Practitioner.” “It’s helpful with epilepsy and other neurological conditions, and it calms the nerves, but without the psychoactive effects of marijuana.”

The tinctures have been shown to slow the growth of cancer cells, aid sleep, and can be used in combination with traditional medicines, she said.

“You can’t get high with this,” she said. “That’s why it’s good for children or the elderly – people you don’t want giving something to that’s going to make them stoned.”

The difference between a pot dispensary and a collective is that a dispensary can provide marijuana to anyone with a medical marijuana card, while a collective “is a small group of people with a common goal – members only. We know who they are and keep track of them.”

The women moved to Vallejo from Oakland two years ago and started this business in July, they said.

“We have a grower and we make the tincture,” Knight said, adding that while some similar products are available at some of Vallejo’s “pot shops,” none carry the variety and CBD strength of their creations.

Knight has been involved with making tinctures for 20 years, mostly for herself, she said.

“I’ve always been into the holistic field — I do a lot of preventive-type things for myself and I feel good about that,” the 52-year-old Knight said. “I haven’t been in the hospital since I had my tonsils out at 5.”

The element of this endeavor that Knight said she most values, is “helping people take control of their health and making them a part of it.”

Since these tinctures can’t be legally shipped, the women will make deliveries to local collective members who can’t easily get to them, they said.

A naturopathic doctor and a chiropractor, Acquistapace, 65, said that now that she’s mostly practicing in a consultant capacity, “the people I like to see are the ones who really want to get to the cause of the illness, as opposed to those who want to Band-Aid the symptoms for the rest of their lives.”

For information, visit www.piantacbd.com or call 510-866-6675 or 510-967-7932.

Call Rachel Raskin-Zrihen at 707-553-6824

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Vallejo business provides the medicinal benefits of cannabis without the high