A Buffalo building that once housed the U.S. Postal Service will soon have new life. The facility on Monsignor Valente Drive near the Central Terminal on the city's east side is set to become a research and manufacturing plant for CBD products, which are gaining popularity with many people for their health benefits.

Sound Wellness, a subsidiary of Florida-based Jushi, Inc. will invest more than $5 million into the building. The company has teamed up with Dr. Laszlo Mechtler, medical director of the DENT Neurologic Institute in Amherst. He's a leading research on medical marijuana and CBD products. CBD comes from the hemp or the cannabis plant, but does not get a person high like marijuana because it contains small amounts of the compound THC. Mechtler CBD can help with anxiety, pain relief and other health issues.

The operation will help him with research, while initially providing CBD products to patients at DENT at more affordable prices than currently available.

"My research is not supported by anybody because pharmaceutical companies have no interest in medical marijuana. So how do I do research? A research study costs $50,000 to $100,000," Mechtler said.

The company recently received its hemp-processing license. It plans to work with New York State hemp farmers for raw materials and create 30 to 65 new jobs. The plant is expected to be operational by April.