A MAN who nearly bled to death following a routine operation to remove his appendix turned his traumatic experience into a positive by launching his own café in Basingstoke selling CBD products.

Fraser Bracey first came across CBD when his late grandfather was diagnosed with throat cancer.

He said: “He was my idol and I was looking into alternative treatments for him and I stumbled across CBD.”

Fraser then discovered the benefits of the oil himself after suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following an operation.

The 26-year-old said: “I had an appendix operation however I bled quite badly after, I lost nine pints of blood whilst awake.”

Afterwards, Fraser suffered with PTSD, which affected his sleep and caused him to sweat excessively.

He decided to try CBD because the product had helped relieve his grandfather’s symptoms, and believes it has cured him of PTSD, saying: “I couldn’t go back to work. I had lot of physical symptoms and flash-backs to being in hospital. It was a tough time.”

Inspired by the benefits of the product, Fraser decided to set up a business selling CBD and has just opened a new café in Church Street, Basingstoke. 

Vedas CBD has items for sale with CBD including sweets, chocolate and tea, as well as offering shots of CBD in coffee.

He hopes the café will offer people interested in using the product somewhere to come and ask questions before buying it, as well as a social space to enjoy it.

He also wants to reassure customers that the products sold in the café are safe, explaining: “There’s no regulation in the industry and there are different ways of extracting the oil. We only deal with products that have been CO2 extracted rather than using things like alcohol which isn’t as safe.

“Bottles of CBD can be expensive so we want people to try it before they buy a bottle so offer shots in coffee.”

Fraser, who used to sell life insurance, said his new job is so rewarding when he sees the reported benefits of CBD for customers, explaining: “It was almost like it was meant to be going through the PTSD and now I do something I love that can help others. 

"We had one guy with Parkinson’s disease and he was shaking and there was no way he could carry his cups. After having a coffee, he was carrying his cup back and was shouting to everyone how excited he was. He hadn’t felt that sort of relief before. It was emotional for the staff. It’s so rewarding because people come back and say thank you. That’s why I do it.”

Fraser also has a shop in Woking and Farnborough, and hopes to expand to other areas in the future.

CBD, also known as cannabidiol, is one of 104 chemical compounds found in the marijuana plant. Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the main psychoactive substance found in cannabis.

Whereas cannabis often contains high levels of THC, CBD has less than 0.2 per cent of the psychoactive substance.

CBD is thought to have therapeutic properties, but research is still being done to understand this better.

Last year, the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) classed CBD as medicine, providing it meets a strict set of safety quality standards.

The NHS advises that there is no guarantee that products containing CBD are good quality or provide any health benefits.

It adds that some cannabis-based products are available on prescription as medicinal cannabis, but are only likely to benefit a very small number of patients.

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