State Sen. Patricia Van Pelt’s embattled CBD business has paid back more than $144,000 to investors as part of a settlement agreement stemming from an investigation by the Illinois secretary of state’s office, the Chicago Sun-Times has learned.
WaKanna For Life LLC, the Chicago Democrat’s Douglas-based multilevel marketing firm, is touted as a “movement” that has helped thousands of African Americans sell hemp-based CBD, or cannabidiol, a legal and nonpsychoactive compound also found in cannabis that’s used to treat a range of conditions. The company’s “founders” — Van Pelt, CEO Melissa Boston, Dr. Rita McGuire and Phyllis Nash — are all Black women.
