You don’t have to be a CBD consumer to notice that the CBD craze is in full bloom. From pills and vapes to edibles and topicals, CBD infused products seem to be everywhere you turn, so there’s really no escaping the hype. If we were to listen to experts’ opinion, the CBD party is only just beginning, meaning we’re going to see a lot more CBD in the future.
There’s no denying that the health and wellness landscape is living and breathing CBD at the moment and the green rush is gaining more and more followers by the day. This has laid the foundation for a thriving CBD industry that has exceeded all expectations and shows no signs of stopping its ascension. If you feel like all of this has happened overnight, you’re not the only one. It’s like we woke up one day and the whole world was all of a sudden talking about CBD.
But is this how things really went down or is it just the common perception of the phenomenon? Maybe we’re jumping to conclusions, so let’s dig a little deeper and see how we got here in the first place and where we’re headed CBD wise.
There’s more to CBD than meets the eye
CBD isn’t this mysterious ingredient that came out of nowhere to take the world by storm. In fact, people have been enjoying its benefits since immemorial times. It is believed that Chinese Emperor Sheng Nung was keen on using CBD tea to help with his many health issues. Apparently, the word about CBD’s powerful attributes also reached Queen Victoria who used it for menstrual pain. But not only people from upper classes knew about CBD. The general population was also well aware of its benefits, although there wasn’t any scientific evidence related to it.
However, CBD’s modern history begins in the 40’s when the first studies on cannabis were conducted and cannabinoids were discovered. That’s when scientists started learning about CBD’s wonderful proprieties and shared them with the world. Since then, countless studies have been performed, with promising results attesting for CBD’s therapeutic effects. Although research continues and more evidence is needed to fully understand CBD benefits, what we know so far has gotten many people convinced that CBD can be a miracle worker.
Today CBD is used as a supplement that can help with a variety of health conditions or as a method to support a healthier lifestyle for not only humans but for the animals as well specially dogs. Lately, we have seen an increasing demand for CBD treats and CBD oil for dogs in the market. Studies show that CBD could help with pain relief, anxiety and depression, cancer-related symptoms, skin issues, diabetes prevention, heart problems, and neurological disorders.
Growing popularity
For many years, cannabis suffered from a bad reputation due to the fact that it was wrongfully associated with illegal marijuana. Since hemp and marijuana are cannabis varieties and CBD can be extracted from both species, it’s easy to see where things get mixed up. A lot of people confused CBD with its close relative THC and feared it might produce the same psychoactive properties.
However, once things started moving forward in the CBD industry and producers began spreading accurate information about cannabinoids and how they work, the perception around CBD slowly started to shift. The public became more educated on the matter and CBD prejudices and misconceptions started fading away.
As people learned about CBD and its potential benefits, they grew less reluctant and more tempted to try it for themselves. A lot of entrepreneurs saw the potential in the market and wasted no time in taking advantage of it. As a result, CBD businesses started popping up everywhere and the CBD product lineup rapidly expanded. Today, CBD consumers can buy anything from CBD beauty products, to supplements, edibles and even dog treats.
An expanding market
After the Farm Bill was passed in 2018, allowing for hemp growth and cultivation, differentiating it from other cannabis plants, the CBD market experienced a noticeable boom. This marked a major milestone for the CBD industry as we know it today. That’s when the CBD craze really started. In 2019, CBD sales increased by 133% and by mid-year almost 14% of Americans had already tried CBD products.
New products and companies emerged afterwards as investors didn’t want to miss the opportunity to get a share of the pie. More and more entrepreneurs joined the CBD bandwagon, trying to secure a place in the market. A lot of people with zero experience in running a business decided to try their chance in the industry by buying bulk CBD and opening small specialized shops to cater to the increasing demand for CBD products.
Growth drawbacks
With such high demand and supply in the CBD market, it was only a matter of time until serious issues started to arise. Most of these problems are quality related. Since producers and retailers are looking for quick gain, some of them are putting quality standards on the back burner and flooding the market with low-grade products.
Since the current CBD regulations are not yet able to address these issues, it makes it harder for consumers to distinguish between good and bad or ineffective CBD products, which is a major cause of concern when buying something that’s supposed to influence your health and wellbeing. That’s why most experts recommend doing a bit of research before choosing a CBD provider and opting for reputable companies that are known to follow strict quality regulations.
CBD’s bright future
Things are still in a gray area regarding CBD’s legal status as the FDA has yet to carve out clear regulations and advise producers on CBD standards and best practices. This can pose serious challenges for both producers and consumers. However, experts expect that CBD sales in the US will reach around 1.8 billion U.S. dollars by 2022. This would be a major increase from 2018 when CBD products generated sales of almost half a billion U.S. dollars. Apart from that, research is ongoing and we’re definitely going to find out more about CBD and its numerous benefits in the near future. CBD has already gained consumers’ hearts, so we can obviously expect more people to join the green rush. All these aspects paint a bright future for the CBD industry and keep us excited for what’s to come.