Levellands’ own Celia Corrales and her brick-and-mortar business Live Well Think Happiness was the 2023 recipient of the Best of Lubbock CBD Store Award.
Out of five businesses within the area up for the award, her business came away with the award as the decision was based on people’s choice.
“Levelland and this community have been amazing,” said Corrales. “I cannot stress it enough on Facebook, but I can’t do what I do without the community, without my friends and family and customers from all over the place because we don’t just service Levelland. We service the surrounding areas and we service all the way up to different states miles away from here for CBD and boutique stuff.”
In addition to retailing CBD products and natural supplements, Corrales also has a boutique line that varies in random items and she also customizes T-shirts.
“Without the support from everyone we wouldn’t be able to do what we do and that’s the reason why we won the award is because it was people’s choice,” explained Corrales.
Corrales has been in the CBD business for roughly eight years and what prompted her making the decision was her husband suffering from anxiety in 2017.
“We were trying to find the natural way because he had been taking prescribed medications and it wasn’t working for him,” said Corrales. “He didn’t like the way it made him feel so we bought an oil in Utah and it worked for him.”
Wanting to save money, Corrales signed up for the discount and three months later she decided she wanted to help other people and so signed on for an affiliate program.
Through an MLM company, Corrales built a team of 250 people which allowed those individuals to made extra income for their family while she also made an extra income for her family. At the same time, her team was helping people. Eventually, the company decided to switch from the CBD business and it was Corrales’s husband’s that encouraged her to pursue a career in the business.
After researching and many prayers later, Corrales decided to find products through wholesale and retail the items. In 2019, Corrales had many discussions with her family and friends regarding the desire to open her own store. However, she felt that was unattainable at the time and with COVID-19 looming in 2020, it felt like an even more distant dream to her.
It wasn’t until she was approached by the Palmers regarding a building that had become available that the dream came within her grasp. Many discussions and prayers were had on pulling the trigger to move into the building amid the state of everything from economy and pandemic.
“I talked about making a store, but I never thought it would happen,” said Corrales. “It wasn’t until the price of oil drastically dropped and both my husband and I began receiving pay cuts because of the state of things that we really considered the decision.”
It wasn’t until Corrales had multiple discussions with a friend who would eventually help her with the money to jump start the process that she decided to go all in. By June 2020, Corrales and her business were officially opened in the downtown area of Levelland.
“While many small businesses were struggling and closing, our first year was amazing,” said Corrales. “When we opened up the brick-andmortar, I had no knowledge of opening up a store but we thrived in 2021. In 2022 is when business started decline which is when we found that marijuana had become legal in New Mexico. I started seeing a few declines in sales there but we still kept pushing through it. Now in the current state our economy is in right now has been tough.”
While many questions have been asked about the validity of CBD, Corrales explained that there are various reasons an individual may consider the natural supplements she offers. CBD or Cannabidiol, derives from the Hemp Plant. Corrales explained that there are different forms of CBD that someone can have. In the CBD world, there are scientific terms such as broad-spectrum CBD, full-spectrum CBD and CBD Isolates.
A full-spectrum CBD product contains multiple cannabis plant extracts, including essential oils, terpenes, and other cannabinoids, such as cannabinol. Full-spectrum CBD products may also contain up to 0.3% trusted source of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the cannabinoid in the cannabis plant that produces the ‘high’ feeling in people. However, such a low amount is not strong enough to have significant psychoactive effects.
Because full-spectrum CBD contains all cannabis plant compounds, it may have a more potent effect than pure CBD. There is research that suggests that CBD’s health benefits may be more prominent when multiple compounds from the cannabis plant are present. This is what researchers call the ‘entourage effect.’ With a range of reported health benefits, uses for fullspectrum CBD include: antiseizure, muscle spasm relief, antianxiety, pain relief, treatment for psychotic disorders, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory.
Broad-spectrum CBD is very similar to full-spectrum CBD in that it contains additional cannabis plant compounds. Most broad-spectrum CBD products have zero or trace amounts of THC, but there should be less than the 0.3% contained in fullspectrum products. Like fullspectrum CBD, broad-spectrum products may have a higher likelihood of producing beneficial health effects than CBD isolate because of the entourage effect.
CBD isolate is a pure form of CBD. It contains no other cannabis plant compounds. It usually comes from hemp plants, which typically contain very low amounts of THC. CBD isolate is a crystal form of CBD, and it is often ground up and sold as a powder. It may also be called CBD crystals.
“Most of my products lean towards people who work in the oil field and in places where individuals get drug tested,” explained Corrales. “In turn, most of our products are broadspectrum CBD or CBD Isolate.”
Corrales also added that there are several ways to take the products ranging from orally such as a gummy or edible and through inhaling the product through smoking or vaping. While many have heard of CBD aiding in anxiety, stress, depression and ADHD, Corrales has begun noticing more older individuals coming to her store trying to find alternatives from what they are currently taking or who are curious of the products.
“Older individuals sometimes think that people taking these products are just trying to get high, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth and I think they are starting to understand that or show more curiosity of how it could help their bodies,” explained Corrales. “I always encourage individuals to do their research beforehand and understand their bodies because all we want to do is help them feel better.”
For any individuals that are curious or interested in CBD products or visiting the boutique side of the brick-and-mortar, Live Well, Think Happiness is located in the Levelland downtown area adjacent from the post office at 713 Avenue G. Business hours include Monday through Friday from 12:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Additionally, Corrales has utilized the power of social media platforms such as Facebook to conduct a large portion of her business. Individuals can find her through the Live Well Think Happiness Facebook page. Corrales does not currently have a website page.
For now, Corrales will continue to operate through her brick-and-mortar business, but the current state of the economy is something that she cannot ignore.
“I absolutely enjoy face-toface interactions with my customers and I like answering any questions or providing information for them,” said Corrales. “For now, I will continue to help people and hope they enjoy what we can offer them.”