Ask Ivan Moody about his sobriety, and the Five Finger Death Punch singer credits a good chunk of his recovery to products containing CBD, or cannabidiol. That's the cannabis-derived chemical compound (literally, a cannabinoid) that's found a growing market among health-conscious and hemp-friendly consumers.

Unlike the more well-known THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) found in cannabis, the component that gets one "high," CBD doesn't go psychoactive in one's system. However, according to its proponents, CBD offers a wealth of health benefits, including relief from pain, anxiety and more.

Enter Moody's Medicinals, the CBD (and non-CBD) wellness products the FFDP frontman launched this year. It's not just some vanity line pushed by a rocker unconcerned with its wares — quite the contrary. Moody came up with its pair of inaugural products when searching for answers to his own ailments. And he required those solutions to be delivered sans alcohol. That's how Moody's brand throat sprays and CBD-infused water products were born.

"I use throat sprays on stage, but most of the throat sprays I was using had alcohol or other carcinogens in them, stuff I wanted to keep away from myself," Moody told Loudwire. "So I started making a recipe for my own throat spray that was more of a natural approach to everything."

Now, consumers can reap the benefits of the musician's field-tested research. Those interested can get their hands on Moody's Medicinals Throat Potion in peppermint flavor, with or without the CBD, thanks to the musician's clear-headed ingenuity. A similar thought process led to the concoction of Moody's Medicinals CBD Water.

Because, somewhat surprisingly for a rockstar who tours the world regularly, Moody has "seriously bad anxiety," he revealed, "especially when I'm up in front of crowds. In the past, I've always used CBD in teas, or I've put it into waters. And that's how we ended up with the products you see now. And they're just fantastic, man. I mean, it's really helped me on a daily basis. I've started using them outside of being on tour."

Before Moody's Medicinals, it was a rough few years for the musician. He confessed to an alcohol problem that nearly got him ousted from Five Finger Death Punch. (Those issues were illustrated not so subtly in the band's 2016 music video for "I Apologize.") By 2017, Moody was missing gigs — and sources reported he was leaving the group — before he ultimately entered rehab to clean up his act. In 2019, the musician celebrated one year of sobriety.

Moody's Medicinals
Moody's Medicinals
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"When I decided to get sober, there were a lot of chemical imbalances that came along with that, physically as well as mentally," Moody explained. "And then there's the day when I woke up, and I felt like a 75-, 80-year-old man. I was looking in my medicine cabinet, and there were, like, eight bottles of different medications and stuff used for anxiety, appetite and so on. It just fucking occurred to me that I was putting all this crap in my body for something that I could do naturally."

The holistic approach is second nature to the musician. Moody was born in Denver, and his formative years afforded him a front-row seat to the legalization crusade that put the surrounding state at the forefront of medical marijuana use and, now, legal recreational marijuana. These days, the FFDP singer uses both CBD products and THC-containing substances to help ease his anxiety, regulate his hunger and keep him centered both on the road and off.

"You know, growing up in Colorado, I got exposed to a lot of THC and CBD and other natural stuff," Moody spelled out. "Getting sober, I was looking for a way to start turning myself away from other possible addictions. I also didn't want to get into supplements for things that I knew how to control myself. CBD was just a no-brainer."

As for those who protest the use of THC (or CBD) in the regimen of a newly-sober teetotaler, the Five Finger Death Punch singer laid out his argument for the substances' place in his life away from alcohol.

"Alcohol was my venom, that was my poison," Moody offered in no uncertain terms. "So sobriety for me entails getting rid of that fucking disease. Working towards it, anyway — you never really get rid of it. And if you can use something natural, people shouldn't shy away from it anymore. It's almost 2020, you know? Wake the fuck up."

After all, the musician got put to the test. Moody recalled he was "three weeks away from a tour" when he first got out of recovery. "My concern was that I was going to get back out there and that the stress of tour — the daily grind of it — was going to affect me in adverse ways," he said.

Fortuitously, the musician didn't relapse. In fact, his sober success led to a Moody Medicinal's launch event in Las Vegas last Saturday (Nov. 2), the same weekend Five Finger Death Punch kicked off their current U.S. tour and saw the city name Nov. 1 "Five Finger Death Punch Day." At the Moody's Medicinal's launch, new items such as the Relax Personal CBD Diffuser Pens and CBD Shots (in both AM and PM varieties) led the product showcase.

Coincidentally, it also capped recording sessions for the band's upcoming album. They started working on their eighth studio effort this spring, and the band's members have separately reported the future release as both returning to their "heavier side" and being the "best music" they've done. For Moody, it also hits a more important benchmark: He recorded it without the use of alcohol.

"We just got the CD done literally two or three days ago," Moody said. (Loudwire conducted this interview Oct. 30.) "This has been the most time we've spent on an album. We were going on seven months of working on this record, not to mention the countless days before that being on the road and putting it together. So this album is, like, the proud point of my career. Especially doing it completely sober, it helped me realize how much I love music."


Check out Moody's Medicinals here.

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