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Ramon Ramirez was at the South by Southwest conference, chilling under the black tents of the Fader Fort, when a vendor handed him a small complimentary dose of CBD oil drops for pets. This was 2019, CBD’s breakout year, as the upstart hemp sector swarmed every trade show and music festival in North America. “There were CBD dinner parties and CBD cocktails at dumb brand activations,” remembers Ramirez, who lives in Austin, Texas, and works in the media. A few weeks after the show, Ramirez was on a trip with his dog Penny, who can get anxious on her bad days. He needed to leave her in a room for four hours or more. A few drops of CBD certainly couldn’t hurt.