Marijuana is
the Mexican Word for Cannabis. It is a wonder plant that has been hijacked and
given a bad name by underworld gangs, exploiting a chemical compound in the
plant called THC that produces intoxicating highs sought by drug users.
Hemp is also
produced from the Cannabis plant and is the source of Canabidiol, a chemical
compound commonly shortened to CBD. This has negligible intoxicating THC
content and will increasingly become freely available online and in
supermarkets, pharmacies and health shops. A wide range of therapeutic benefits
are claimed for it.
CBD is
naturally occurring in the Hemp plant and according to the United States own
government patent #6,630,507 it supports
nutrition of aging bodies.
Cannabis
medicine is not a new concept. Its medicinal use dates back thousands of years
– at least 1,000 years in India and 5,000 years in China.
Before its
prohibition in the West, major pharmaceutical companies offered a wide variety
of cannabis-based medicines, with 1840 to 1937 being the “golden age” for
cannabis medicine.
Source - (Leonard-Johnson
& Rappoport, 2014)
With the discovery
of the cannabidoid non intoxicating compound CBD in Cannabis Hemp, It is predicted
that prescription-Free CBD products from Cannabis Hemp will pose competition
for the $1.1 Trillion Pharmaceutical Industry.
Which is not
surprising. As soon as the Farm Bill passed in the USA, effectively legalizing
CBD nationwide, it was only a matter of time before major retailers stepped
into the market.
Last week,
Walgreens announced it would begin selling CBD products in its stores.
CBD products
on sale in American States with Walgreen stores means other States and
Countries will be watching public response.
Walgreens
has entered the CBD market in direct competition with rival CVS.
Proof that
2019 will be the “Year of CBD“continue to pour in.
It will mean
big sales for those health and wellness companies with leading brands and an
eye towards becoming global consumer packaged CBD goods giants.
Walgreens
spokesman Brian Faith said in a statement.
“This
product offering is in line with our efforts to provide a wider range of
accessible health and wellbeing products and services to best meet the needs
and preferences of our customers,”
Walgreens
rival, CVS Health ( Consumer Value Stores), made a similar CBD announcement
days before.
In a true
show of that rivalry, Walgreens is attempting to outpace CVS. While the initial
CVS rollout covered 800 stores across eight states, Walgreens will begin
carrying the products in nearly 1,500 stores across nine states.
And
competition between chains is not only expected, but also healthy for the
growth of the cannabis industry.
The sale of prescription
free CBD through major retailers in these states is not unexpected, and it
signals something huge for the cannabis markets as a whole…
Existing
Markets Examined
CBD creams,
patches, and sprays hitting the shelves of major retailers in California,
Colorado, Oregon, and Vermont seems like a natural progression. States like
these already have a robust cannabis presence, and there’s no reason to think
residents will hesitate to purchase new CBD products.
CBD Hemp
from Cannabis is expected to create growth at an unbelievable speed in 2019.
As these
products are wellness-based, selling them in states with medical-only markets
is a no-brainer. No one should be taken back to see the companies offer CBD in
states like Maryland, New Mexico, and Illinois.
And even
without legal marijuana, states like Kentucky and Tennessee already have
incredibly well-established industrial hemp industries. So it makes perfect
sense that both CVS and Walgreens have chosen to include these states as part
of their initial CBD rollout.
But there
are a handful of states whose inclusion in these deals is completely
unexpected.
CVS will
sell CBD products in Alabama, Walgreens will sell them in South Carolina, and
both will sell them in Indiana.
The decision
of these two major drug stores to sell CBD in certain states is surprising. Hemp
cultivation is far more recent in these states, and there are no serious
efforts to see medicinal cannabis legalized in any of them – let alone adult
use.
Clearly, the
Farm Bill is having far deeper-reaching effects than anyone could have imagined
– and at an astounding pace. Once again, we have clear evidence that 2019 is
the “Year of CBD.”
CBD is not
just a wellness product with incredible healing potential – it’s the key to
normalizing cannabis and penetrating markets no one imagined cannabis would
touch in our lifetimes.
CVS and
Walgreens are only the beginning. Considering this progress, it’s hard to
believe that cannabis in your grocery store is very far away. Don’t be
surprised when you see CBD reach the shelves of Target or Walmart.
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