As a leading voice in CBD products and education in the South Bay, Cloud City Supply is celebrating National CBD Day with a little history lesson today. In this post, we will explore the history and origins of CBD, and explain how the compound became such an attractive option in alternative medicinal practices today.

Although CBD seems to have only gained popularity in recent years, did you know there’s actually a rich history that dates back thousands of years in various ancient cultures that have used cannabis for its plethora of healing properties?

The origins and evolution of CBD in medicine

Originating documentation begins in 2737 BCE in ancient Chinese medical texts. Chinese physicians used the cannabis plant as a natural remedy for various conditions including pain relief, inflammation, and indigestion. In the ancient Indian Ayurvedic medicinal practice – one of the world’s oldest holistic healing systems – cannabis was also used for pain management, anxiety, and even epilepsy. Around the 7th century, the plant gained recognition in the Middle East and quickly became a staple herbal remedy throughout Islamic cultures. Arabic medical texts mention it was utilized for many of the same therapeutic purposes, most notably for pain relief.

Eventually, cannabis’ gleaming reputation reached Europe during the medieval period and was listed in many pharmacopeias throughout the 19th century. During this time cannabis was also used for copious common medicinal purposes in the United States until it was later criminalized in the early 20th century. It wasn’t until the 1940s when CBD garnered the interest of researchers who first discovered the compound in the cannabis plant. Approximately 50 years later, after scientists ascertained knowledge of the endocannabinoid system (ECS) in the 1990s, data about specific cannabinoid extracts (like CBD) and how they interact with the human body to produce these magical effects became available.

Modern...Read More

Malinka European Mini Market now carries a selection of imported wine and beer in the back of our shop at 484 Lighthouse Avenue in Monterey. Whether you're looking for a taste of home or a bottle that's a bit out of the ordinary, we have a little something for everyone.

Our wines are imported from Portugal, Poland, Armenia, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine, Spain, Germany, and Mentenegro. Our beers include those from Spain, Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania, Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic.

Casey Starks Studio carries some beautiful stickers, designed by Casey, featuring iconic views of Monterey, Carmel, Pacific Grove, and Moss Landing. They make lovely gifts for loyal Monterey Bay residents and happy visitors.

Casey Starks's simple yet elegant drawings of Monterey Old Fisherman's Wharf, Carmel Beach, Pacific Grove Lover's Point, and the Moss Landing power plant by the Bay are available online and in the shop at 550 Lighthouse Avenue, Suite A in Monterey.

All of Casey's locally themed stickers feature permanent adhesive, are made of UV-resistant vinyl suitable for indoor or outdoor applications, and have a matte finish. These will stay looking sharp for a long time.

Did you know that Monterey's Lighthouse District has some great plumbers? GP Piping, a locally owned, full-service plumbing company, has more than 30 years of experience in residential, commercial, and industrial plumbing in Monterey and Santa Cruz Counties, and they're based right here at 327 Lighthouse Avenue in Monterey.

Caleb Gutierrez, the owner of GP Piping, aims to treat customers like family and offer the best work for the best value. He only hires trained plumbers who've completed their apprenticeship under a master plumber, so he and his team are prepared to handle all kinds of plumbing-related problems.

Their specialties include water and gas pipe repairs, drain repair and cleaning, water heaters, leak detection, bathroom remodels, and more. Just call 831-348-0123 for a free estimate. GP Piping also offers emergency plumbing services day or night throughout Monterey and Santa Cruz Counties.

As a token of appreciation for all hardworking delivery service workers, Namaste India Bistro at 538 Lighthouse Avenue in Monterey is offering exclusive discounts on our lunch buffet and a la carte dinner through December 31, 2023.

Lunch Buffet Special
Served daily, 11:30am-2:30pm
Enjoy a well-deserved break with Namaste's delectable lunch buffet. From aromatic curries to freshly baked naan, our buffet has it all. And now, you can savor it with a generous 20% discount!

A La Carte Dinner Delight
Served daily, 5pm-9pm
After a busy day of deliveries, treat yourself to a relaxing evening with Namaste's a la carte dinner. Delve into the richness of Indian cuisine, choosing from a diverse range of dishes that cater to every craving, and enjoy a 10% discount on your dinner order.

This offer is valid for dine-in and pick-up orders only (not valid for online orders). Simply show your delivery ID when making your order/payment. Namaste thanks all delivery service workers for keeping our community connected. We're here to serve you, just as you serve us every day.

Venture Gallery presents the paintings of Tamara Selyangina, our featured artist for September. Her exhibit, entitled Beautiful Monterey Peninsula, features iconic images of our area.

A serene harbor morning with deep mist, promising a lovely day ahead; a flight string of pelicans; magnificent sand dunes and windswept trees; these iconic images of the Monterey Peninsula inspire Tamara to pick up her brush, watercolors, and paper to create interpretations of the incredible beauty that surrounds us here in Monterey.

Venture Gallery is now open 10am-6pm six days a week and 2pm-6pm on Tuesdays. Tamara Selyangina's artwork will be featured through September 2023. Venture Gallery is located at 260 Alvarado Street in Downtown Old Monterey. Visit our website to shop online for work by our local artists.

Looking for live music in Downtown Monterey? Check our Live Music listings on OldMonterey.org. We've got all your options laid out... everything from small coffeehouse gigs to full production concerts.

Upcoming Live Music Events

If you follow our social media, you may have noticed that Downtown Campbell appears to be trying out a new look. It's true. We're changing our logo from the well traveled water tower logo that was designed for us by Sonya Paz over 15 years ago and had been used as the identity banner of Downtown Campbell since 2008.

Our new logo is the wonderful work of Sally-Anne Peterson, one of the current board members of the Downtown Campbell Business Association and the owner of Quintessential Real Estate. We've been searching for a new look for the Downtown Campbell brand for years now and a lot of different things have been tried. The amount of effort Sally put in (as a volunteer no less) to get this over the finish line is unimaginable except for those who've attempted a similar challenge for a community as dynamic as Downtown Campbell.

The classic look from 2008 isn't going to completely disappear anytime soon. There's still stuff that pops up around town and online that's from even before that time. Given all the things that Downtown Campbell is and is involved in, it'll probably be a year or two before we finish the transition with the website getting an overhaul sometime in the first half of 2024.

The introduction of our new logo would be a good time to let you know more about the people behind the logo and much of the culture of Downtown Campbell. We're the Downtown Campbell Business Association (DCBA), an independently funded organization of business owners and locals united in the shared interest of having a vibrant downtown as a place where community grows.

Monterey Car Week 2023 got rolling on Friday, August 11 in Downtown Old Monterey with a remarkable collection of historic race cars. To give the public a chance to get up close and personal with auto-racing history, these classic racers and their owners stopped by Alvarado Street for a couple of hours on their way to participating in the Rolex Monteey Motorsports Reunion at Laguna Seca. View photos of the event and all the cars here.

Held at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, the annual Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion is a museum revving to life with hundreds of historic and period-correct race and sports cars from nearly every era. Yet they are not for show. Drivers race them in corresponding run groups to enjoy them at speed and for the entertainment of thousands of enthusiastic visitors.

Each year in the fall, the Teal Run returns to Campbell Park to hold their annual day of hope, love, and support for the women and families that have been affected by ovarian cancer. This year's event will be on Sunday, October 1st and will be its 9th running of the Teal Run 5K.

If ovarian cancer has touched your life, please consider being a part of this day of hope and healing. Over 500 people are expected to participate in the Kids' Dash and the 5K as runners or walkers to raise money and celebrate someone's battle with ovarian cancer.

Please head over to the Teal Run's website to learn more about it and register for the 5K or to make a donation to help in their cause. They're also looking for businesses to donate goods or services for their prize drawing.

At the heart of our mission is a commitment to providing clean, safe, and highly effective CBD products supplemented by educational-based customer service to help you find solutions tailored to your individual needs. When you shop at Cloud City Supply, you can rest assured that any product you pick up has undergone an extensive testing process by independent labs to ensure its formulation is free of any heavy metals, pesticides, solvents, or any other harmful ingredients you might find in other CBD brands. However, although all our products meet the highest quality market standards, that doesn’t necessarily mean they are all safe for any consumer to use. Today, let’s review the different types of CBD products we offer and how they coincide with other drugs or medications you might be taking.

Topical CBD

When you apply CBD to your skin, it is not absorbed into your bloodstream nor metabolized by your liver. Therefore, topical CBD products are safe to use regardless of what medications you are currently taking. Topical CBD products include creams, lotions, salves, balms, serums, bath salts, bath bombs, and oils. Topical CBD products are the safest way to experience the relaxation and relief CBD can bestow upon muscle aches and joint pains.

Oral CBD

CBD in the form of gummies, capsules, softgels, pills, and beverages passes through your gut and is metabolized by your liver. Because CBD is broken down in the liver by binding to specific enzymes (p450 CYP3A4) that break down drug compounds in over 25% of over-the-counter medications, mixing it with prescription meds or other drugs presents a potential risk, as it may alter the efficacy or increase the blood levels of those medications. Depending on the medication, unintended side effects might include nausea, drowsiness, and even possible overdose with certain painkillers. Because CBD strongly affects these enzymes, we recommend asking your doctor or booking a free consultation with our in-house CBD coaches before experimenting if you are taking other medications.

How do you know if the medication you are taking is broken down by the p450 CYP3A4 enzyme?

Here’s one easy way to tell: If the label or pamphlet provided by your pharmacy says not to take the medication with grapefruit, then it is not safe to take with oral CBD products. Grapefruit contains compounds...Read More

Tickets for our Fall Wine Walk are now ON SALE and we also have something exciting to tell you!

For the first time since we started doing Wine Walks in the spring fo 2010, we're doing the Wine Walk on a Thursday night instead of Wednesday. Our Wine Walks have been very popular right from the start, but one thing we keep hearing is that people wanted to do it on Friday or Saturday night.

We can't do Friday or Saturday because it's just not possible to hold a high traffic event when Downtown Campbell's already going to be full of people as it is. Thursday is a day we can try out. Let us know what you think. If you prefer it, we'll schedule all of our future Wine Walks on Thursdays.

Our Fall Wine Walk will be on Thursday, September 21st from 6-9pm. Advance sale tickets are $50 plus ticketing fees. Advance sale pricing ends on the week of the event and the ticket price goes up to $55 starting on Monday, September 17th.

Purchase confidently because your tickets will be refundable up until the day of the event.

Florra is one of our newest businesses in Downtown Campbell, but it's blended in so well to the Downtown Campbell scene that it feels like it's been here for years. On the occasion of September being Self-Care Awareness Month, we're sharing with you an excerpt of the story of how Thuy Ha chose to take her life in a new direction and start a retail business to help people practice self-care.

Thuy's Story

Florra is an outer expression of everything I believe in—beauty, wellness, self-care, and living in harmony with each other and the earth. My vision for this store came from a very deep and authentic place, one that took a very long time for me to uncover—and I believe it's the reason why many customers seem to resonate with the store so much.

Like so many, my purpose came from much pain. I had been living my life on autopilot for many years, doing and accomplishing the things I thought would make me happy. I was living someone else's perfect life but it was far from my own truth. I soon learned that when we ignore our soul's whispers, our bodies will make us take notice.

I began experiencing physical and emotional health issues along with a deep inner knowing that something was off. I tried everything during that time to get better but I soon found that nothing was going to heal me overnight. It took years of ignoring my body and my soul to get to that low point, so it would take some time for things to get better. I began by eating a cleaner diet of organic and unprocessed foods. I switched out all of the personal care products in my home to ones with natural ingredients and without harmful toxins. I sought out holistic healing modalities such as acupuncture and even became a certified Reiki practitioner. The journey was ultimately about loving myself, listening to my body, and honoring my soul.

The best remedies though, were found in the smallest moments—salt baths with flowers and candles, a warm cup of chai tea at dawn, burning cleansing smoke, and inhaling fragrant essential oils. It wasn’t long before I started feeling like myself again. I garnered the courage to walk away from the things I no longer resonated with and rebuilt my life with more authenticity and purpose.

Self-care has since become a non-negotiable for me. It’s a ritual that I practice often and diligently. I opened Florra in hopes of inspiring many others to do the same for themselves. There's nothing better for our wellbeing than slowing down, being present, and taking time for small and sacred moments.

Since we opened, Florra has become a space for community gathering through our many different workshops and events. This aspect of the store is what I cherish most as it brings me so much joy to hold space for these enchanting evenings filled with togetherness and all-around good vibes. Sometimes, the events are profoundly healing; other times, they are fun and vibrant.

I have fallen in love with the...Read More

Monterey History and Art at Stanton Center is featuring "Central Coast Allure," a captivating photography exhibition by artist Monica Vigna, which focuses on the enchanting beauty of the Central Coast. Through her lens, Vigna captures the stunning landscapes, charming coastal scenes, and captivating moments that define the unique allure of the region.

The exhibition promises to showcase a collection of visually striking and thought-provoking photographs that will transport visitors to the mesmerizing landscapes and evoke a sense of wonder and appreciation for the Central Coast's natural beauty.

The event will include a free artist reception on Thursday, August 24, from 6-8 pm, providing attendees with the opportunity to meet Monica Vigna, learn about her creative process, and gain deeper insights into the inspiration behind her work.

For photography enthusiasts, art lovers, and anyone with an appreciation for the charm of the Central Coast, this exhibition is sure to be a memorable and enriching experience.

This exhibition will show through the end of October at the Stanton Center.