There’s no doubt that cannabidiol comes with myriad therapeutic properties (as stipulated by multiple studies). This popularity is likely to only increase in the near future.
After hiding in plain sight for decades now, CBD has finally made it to the mainstream beauty, health, and wellness industry. Not only that, but it’s also taking these industries by storm.
Cannabidiol, or CBD, has probably benefited the most from the legalization of medical marijuana which is why it’s likely to witness even more dramatic and poised growth in the coming years. Add to that the passing of Farm Bill 2018 (that designated hemp as an agricultural crop), and we have the perfect environment for CBD to gain more acceptance and recognition than was ever possible in history.
Ever-evolving Regulatory Environment and Growing Consumer Interest in CBD
Even though hemp and medical marijuana are largely legal; counties and states can choose to have independent regulations. However, despite the continuously evolving environment around hemp and CBD, cannabidiol and CBD products are expected to grow in overall popularity.
Not so long ago, Transparency Market Research compiled data that signaled how CBD hemp oil market’s growth on the global level is projected to grow from $960 million in 2019 to a multi-billion dollar industry by 2026.
Another study by Acosta looked at how millennials talk about their CBD oil experiences on social media and myriad online platforms. After observing the public comments and social media posts, it was clear that the mentions around CBD oil had steadily increased between the years 2018 and 2019. Both genders showed equal participation.
Health Benefits of CBD
If we talk about what kinds of terms were mostly used by the Millennials and the end-use applications around cannabidiol that were most discussed, we can narrow it down to the following. These also happen to be the leading health benefits of using CBD oil.
Pain Management – This continues to be the leading reason behind CBD’s growing popularity. It’s what gives CBD that therapeutic edge. These pain-relieving effects have been stipulated by several studies and online papers. Check out this one, for instance. The most common conditions discussed in this context were chronic pains stemming from inflammation, fibromyalgia, period pain, joint pain, arthritis, etc. Mentions like, “My pharmacists told me it’s safer than using Tylenol”, and “it’s indeed effective” were normal.
Depression and Anxiety – Following pain-management, the next most discussed topic around CBD application was self-management of anxiety and depression and other mental health issues like stress, insomnia, etc. Many millennials mentioned how they used CBD for effectively managing mood swings without experiencing any side-effects like the unwanted ‘high’ or drug-like effects. Approximately 90% of mentions around CBD’s potency for anxiety and depression were positive.
Health and beauty: CBD is supposed to carry anti-inflammatory properties. And conditions like eczema, acne, and rashes are supposed to stem from some kind of underlying skin inflammation. This is probably why CBD might be helpful in battling these skin conditions. This is probably why health and wellness related discussions ranked in the third position. Almost 92% of those were positive mentions.
Pet Care – A well-rounded number of posts made the connection between CBD and its efficacy in dealing with a range of pet-related issues from anxiety and pain, to seizures. In fact, on multiple occasions, you will see CBD oil being touted as the “superfood for pets”. It being organic and natural is even more reason why people chose it over pharmaceutical aid.
Preferred Consumption Method
If we talk about how most millennials prefer to get CBD into their system, then the edible form so far has been the winner. Although there’s a bunch of other ways too to get it into your system such as sublingual, topical, tincture, etc. However, with the exception of health and beauty, most people prefer to get it in edible form.
Does CBD Flower Smell?
A quality CBD flower (such as the one from Industrial Hemp Farms) will have a distinctive and powerful aroma. The smell should be captivating. This rich aroma is indicative of high terpenes levels.
When shopping for CBD flowers, make sure the storekeeper did not keep it out in the open as it can make terpenes lose their potency as well as the aroma.
The smell is a major criterion upon which to base your buying decision. The different nuances of CBD flower can be sourish, fruity, sweetish, floral, and citric. All these fragrances signal high-quality products.
Buds that have a hay smell or no smell whatsoever are bad quality buds/flowers.
Is CBD legal?
In 2018, the Farm Bill legalized CBD that comes from hemp. As per the guidelines, it cannot contain any more than 0.3% THC. However, CBD that comes from marijuana still continues to remain illegal under the Controlled Substances Act.
It’s because the DEA classifies marijuana under Schedule 1 Drugs. This implies CBD from marijuana is currently not accepted for medical use because of the high potential for abuse.
The Farm Bill was originally meant to lay down regulations for hemp farming and hemp farmers. That means cannabinoids found in the cannabis plant even when coming from hemp will only be seen as ‘legal’ if it was produced in manners consistent with the guidelines set by the Bill and other associated regulations, and by a licensed grower only.
In other words, even if a CBD product carries the legal THC limit; if it did not come from a licensed producer, it would fall under the ‘illegal’ category.
In Conclusion
CBD has come a long way from the days of being in incognito mode to gaining global popularity and acceptance that was previously hard to fathom. It might be due to the word-of-mouth publicity by millennials across social media and Internet message boards.
There’s no doubt that cannabidiol comes with myriad therapeutic properties (as stipulated by multiple studies). This popularity is likely to only increase in the near future.
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