It’s crazy to think that the cannabidiol (CBD) market did not exist in the United States at the start of the decade. CBD products only became legal after the 2014 Farm Bill was passed, which allowed for the sale of hemp-based products. But in a few short years, the hemp-derived CBD industry has gone from nothing to one that’s worth hundreds of millions of dollars, as of 2019. Big-name brands like Estee Lauder and Coca-Cola are now looking into creating their own CBD-infused products, not wanting to miss out on the hype.
And the CBD market will likely grow much more in the coming years, with Brightfield Group predicting the industry to be worth more than a billion dollars as soon as 2020 or 2021. In this post, we’ll look into what’s fuelling this remarkable rise, and why it shows few signs of slowing down soon.
CBD research is about to explode
Not everybody realizes that CBD isn’t actually sold as a medicine. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) doesn’t regulate products, and this restricts companies from making medicinal claims around them. To get around this, Green Roads CBD is marketed as a food supplement. But providing a product has the stated amount of CBD, it can be taken to relieve all kinds of ailments – which is exactly what millions of Americans are doing this.
And now the data on what people are taking CBD for and how they are consuming it is beginning to flow in. This will prove priceless for researchers over the coming years, who are desperate to start studying CBD in more depth with some high-quality human trials. Knowing user habits will help a great deal with deciding what studies need to take priority, and which types of treatments and doses to start with. For instance, many who use CBD for anxiety prefer tincture oils and e-liquids to get the benefits quickly. However, chronic pain and inflammation may be treated better with a product that releases the CBD slowly (e.g. capsules and edibles).
In the past, scientists have had to use guess work when determining what doses to use on study participants, and what method of administration to try. This should be less of a problem in the future, and will streamline the research process as a result.
Public opinion of cannabis and CBD is improving
Medical cannabis has garnered lots of positive media coverage in recent times, with stories about how the herb can be used to treat childhood epilepsy touching the hearts of people around the world. Furthermore, with the emergence of CBD products, there is now a legally available cannabis product on the market that doesn’t cause a high, and can deliver significant relief from various conditions.
This new image for marijuana is in stark contrast to a drug that was demonized not so long ago for triggering mental health problems, causing laziness and being a scourge on society. The highly respected Gallup organization released a poll in 2018 showing that 66 percent of Americans now support full cannabis legalization, with even more in favor of medical reform. With perceptions toward the plant changing for the better, this should mean that even more people are willing to try CBD products for themselves, knowing they are safe and that there is no longer a stigma attached to them.
More innovative products will be developed
As researchers learn more about the makeup of the hemp plant, innovative and more therapeutic products will ultimately be developed. CBD is just one of hundreds of compounds in hemp, and many of these have benefits that experts have barely scratched the surface on. For example, the cannabinoid cannabigerol (CBG) boasts anti-inflammatory effects while cannabidivarin (CBDV) can relieve nauseous symptoms. The plant also contains flavonoids which appear to contribute to hemp’s analgesic effects, and those of CBD.
As technology improves, manufacturers may find new ways of extracting compounds from the plant so that extracts are more therapeutic than if they contained CBD alone. We have already seen this to some extent with supercritical CO2 extraction, a process that has allowed for the production of CBD-isolate products. These are some of the best-sellers in the CBD industry since all of the THC has been removed from the extract.
Final thoughts
It’s exciting times for those involved with CBD. In the near future, researchers should confirm the benefits that many already anticipate CBD provides, and that should lead to the creation of novel and more effective products than we can already legally buy.
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