NEW YORK, USA – The growing awareness of cannabidiol or CBD’s health benefits has pushed the market into mainstream retail. Researchers have praised CBD for its multi-faceted uses such as its ability to alleviate minor conditions like headaches. However, CBD can also be used to treat serious symptoms associated with medical conditions such as cancer, epilepsy, and multiple sclerosis.
Moreover, researchers have mentioned that CBD helps with quitting smoking and also mitigates the withdrawal symptoms. As a result, several countries are considering decriminalizing cannabis and potentially looking into legalizing it for recreational and medicinal purposes. For instance, countries such as Portugal, Canada, Ireland, Jamaica, Australia, Germany, and South Africa have all legalized cannabis for medical applications.
Meanwhile, countries such as New Zealand and Mexico are possibly exploring legalizing cannabis entirely. However, the process to legalize cannabis is a tedious and lengthy process. Subsequently, more countries are inclined to legalize just the CBD aspect of the plat. To note, CBD is a derivative of cannabis, but it does not imbue its user with psychoactive effects unlike its THC counterpart. However, after extensive clinical trials, researchers have highlighted that CBD does offer similar therapeutic effects. And now, many see legalizing CBD is yet another step to potentially fully legalizing cannabis.
According to data compiled by Technavio, the global CBD market is expected to accelerate at a CAGR of 31 percent during the forecast period from 2018 to 2022. As the CBD industry continues to grow, the marketplace is becoming more populated and heavily concentrated with new businesses. Specifically, in the US and Canada, consumers can easily purchase CBD-based products from their local convenience stores and even online e-commerce platforms.
The improved accessibility of CBD has led to the exponential growth of the market in the North American region. Technavio even mentions that the Americas region is projected to account for 80 percent of CBD’s global market growth. It is expected to witness the largest growth due to the number of businesses entering into the marketplace as well as growing consumer awareness about its health benefits. Generally, most companies advertise their products as a health and wellness solution.
However, consumers can also use CBD to simply just relax after a tiring day. Nevertheless, most people are consuming CBD products for its benefits such as relieving inflammation or pain. Moreover, extracted CBD oils can also contain essential vitamins and nutrients to boost bodily functions. Notably, vitamins such as A, C, and E are heavily prevalent in CBD extracts. However, considering that the CBD industry is relatively new, researchers still need to conduct more clinical trials to fully understand the efficacy of CBD.
And as research continues to deliver positive data, more and more countries will explore opportunities within the CBD industry. “There is plenty of room for growth here,” believes Confident Cannabis vice president of growth and marketing Brad Bogus, according to Civilized.
“CBD is sort of stuck in between prohibition era policies and federal acceptance. Where it goes from here in the world of Big Pharma is hard to say, but the direction will be up, in some velocity. Seniors are more keen to try a CBD product over a THC product, so even on the regular non-pharmaceutical market, CBD will still snag a good portion of untapped market share. International trade of source material is another big advantage of the CBD market, to help it grow.”
