Meditative Medicinals: Business owner brings healing for herself, her community with CBD products

Beth Rehberger, of Shepherdstown, looks at CBD oil-infused caramels at Meditative Medicinals on Saturday afternoon. Tabitha Johnston
SHEPHERDSTOWN — Meditative Medicinals may have only been open in its location at 123 West German Street since April 20, but it has already started to make a positive impact on the lives of its customers.
For some customers, the CBD oil in the products have made it possible for them to live a pain-free life. According to one customer, from Loudoun County, Virginia, her PTSD symptoms are completely controlled when she takes an anxiety tincture in the morning. Other customers find relief from stress and physical pain with the help of the store’s products.
While store owner Samantha Savoca is careful to say her “products have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any disease,” the relief her products offer has persuaded many local residents to become proponents of CBD.
“I think people like knowing where their CBD is coming from,” Samantha said. “They like to have a place to come to learn about ‘what is CBD, what is hemp, will I fail a drug test?’ I always offer a free consultation with people to get them on the right track.”
Four years ago, Samantha’s life of growing marijuana and teaching yoga in Colorado was turned upside down. The tragic death of her brother led her to CBD oil, as she sought a healthy way to deal with her grief.

Gigi Savoca, right, cashes out Mea Danigelis, of Ashburn, Va., at Meditative Medicinals on Saturday. Tabitha Johnston
“I lost my brother to opioids, so I was passionate about using no pharmaceuticals,” Samantha said. “When I switched to hemp and CBD for depression, instead of pharmaceuticals, it worked for me.”
When Samantha felt better after using CBD oil, she encouraged her mother, Gigi Savoca, to try it out.
“I’ve been on the product for four years,” Gigi said, as she manned Meditative Medicinals’ counter on Saturday afternoon. “On July 20, 2015, I lost my son, and Samantha lost her brother. So that was very difficult.
“During that time, Samantha’s fiance gave her a CBD honey stick. She felt better, and then advised me to try it,” Gigi said. “It’s interesting, because it’s helped us balance.”
According to Samantha, her fiance had picked up the CBD honey stick on a whim, but when she began to have a panic attack and ate the honey stick, the panic attack stopped.
“I immediately felt calmer and good, and more balanced. It really is an amazing thing,” Samantha said. “I started learning about the benefits – anti-inflammatory, really good for the immune system, sleep disorders, anxiety, stress, pain management, so that’s kind of how I got into it.”
As a farmer and cook, Samantha decided to start growing hemp instead of marijuana; shipping the hemp to a laboratory to have the CBD oil removed from it; and then making tinctures, bath bombs, salves and dog treats, which she infused with the oil. At first, she gave the products to family and friends alone. She then set up a not-for-profit organization, Medicinal Dreams, to help make CBD oil affordable for those in need. But after a while, she realized there was a need for her products on the market, so she set up an online store.
“I started making products. And as they sold online, I decided to open up a brick-and-mortar shop, to help more people and have more of a platform to talk with people and guide them through a regimen,” Samantha said, mentioning she considered opening a shop in Colorado, but after moving to West Virginia and getting a license to grow hemp at her farm in Hedgesville, she decided to open up her shop in Shepherdstown.
The business has already proven to be a fixture in the Shepherdstown community, attracting customers with a variety of needs.
“People are coming for many reasons — a health issue, a stress or anxiety issue or they’re just curious. You’ve got people driving in from D.C., from Maryland to get our products,” Gigi said about the store’s customers. “We’re hearing wonderful comments from returning customers, who say they have had great results from CBD products. And, of course, I enjoy the healing myself.”
Meditative Medicinals is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursdays through Sundays. For more information, visit meditativemedicinals.com/ or www.facebook.com/meditativemedicinals/.
- Gigi Savoca, right, cashes out Mea Danigelis, of Ashburn, Va., at Meditative Medicinals on Saturday. Tabitha Johnston
Meditative Medicinals: Business owner brings healing for herself, her community with CBD products

Beth Rehberger, of Shepherdstown, looks at CBD oil-infused caramels at Meditative Medicinals on Saturday afternoon. Tabitha Johnston
SHEPHERDSTOWN — Meditative Medicinals may have only been open in its location at 123 West German Street since April 20, but it has already started to make a positive impact on the lives of its customers.
For some customers, the CBD oil in the products have made it possible for them to live a pain-free life. According to one customer, from Loudoun County, Virginia, her PTSD symptoms are completely controlled when she takes an anxiety tincture in the morning. Other customers find relief from stress and physical pain with the help of the store’s products.
While store owner Samantha Savoca is careful to say her “products have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any disease,” the relief her products offer has persuaded many local residents to become proponents of CBD.
“I think people like knowing where their CBD is coming from,” Samantha said. “They like to have a place to come to learn about ‘what is CBD, what is hemp, will I fail a drug test?’ I always offer a free consultation with people to get them on the right track.”
Four years ago, Samantha’s life of growing marijuana and teaching yoga in Colorado was turned upside down. The tragic death of her brother led her to CBD oil, as she sought a healthy way to deal with her grief.

Gigi Savoca, right, cashes out Mea Danigelis, of Ashburn, Va., at Meditative Medicinals on Saturday. Tabitha Johnston
“I lost my brother to opioids, so I was passionate about using no pharmaceuticals,” Samantha said. “When I switched to hemp and CBD for depression, instead of pharmaceuticals, it worked for me.”
When Samantha felt better after using CBD oil, she encouraged her mother, Gigi Savoca, to try it out.
“I’ve been on the product for four years,” Gigi said, as she manned Meditative Medicinals’ counter on Saturday afternoon. “On July 20, 2015, I lost my son, and Samantha lost her brother. So that was very difficult.
“During that time, Samantha’s fiance gave her a CBD honey stick. She felt better, and then advised me to try it,” Gigi said. “It’s interesting, because it’s helped us balance.”
According to Samantha, her fiance had picked up the CBD honey stick on a whim, but when she began to have a panic attack and ate the honey stick, the panic attack stopped.
“I immediately felt calmer and good, and more balanced. It really is an amazing thing,” Samantha said. “I started learning about the benefits – anti-inflammatory, really good for the immune system, sleep disorders, anxiety, stress, pain management, so that’s kind of how I got into it.”
As a farmer and cook, Samantha decided to start growing hemp instead of marijuana; shipping the hemp to a laboratory to have the CBD oil removed from it; and then making tinctures, bath bombs, salves and dog treats, which she infused with the oil. At first, she gave the products to family and friends alone. She then set up a not-for-profit organization, Medicinal Dreams, to help make CBD oil affordable for those in need. But after a while, she realized there was a need for her products on the market, so she set up an online store.
“I started making products. And as they sold online, I decided to open up a brick-and-mortar shop, to help more people and have more of a platform to talk with people and guide them through a regimen,” Samantha said, mentioning she considered opening a shop in Colorado, but after moving to West Virginia and getting a license to grow hemp at her farm in Hedgesville, she decided to open up her shop in Shepherdstown.
The business has already proven to be a fixture in the Shepherdstown community, attracting customers with a variety of needs.
“People are coming for many reasons — a health issue, a stress or anxiety issue or they’re just curious. You’ve got people driving in from D.C., from Maryland to get our products,” Gigi said about the store’s customers. “We’re hearing wonderful comments from returning customers, who say they have had great results from CBD products. And, of course, I enjoy the healing myself.”
Meditative Medicinals is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursdays through Sundays. For more information, visit meditativemedicinals.com/ or www.facebook.com/meditativemedicinals/.
- Gigi Savoca, right, cashes out Mea Danigelis, of Ashburn, Va., at Meditative Medicinals on Saturday. Tabitha Johnston