The CBD industry has a lot to celebrate this holiday season. The new Farm Bill, recently passed by Congress, will make it easier for farmers to grow hemp –– the plant CBD, or cannabidiol, is derived from. The bill will bring important perks, like access to banking, federal grants, and crop insurance.
The bill also takes hemp off the federal controlled substances list, removing some of the headaches for product manufacturers and farmers who grow the non-hallucinogenic plant to extract the therapeutic CBD oil, among other things.
Over the course of 2018, CBD has gone from being a boutique product that was barely talked about outside of alternative wellness circles to a buzzy industry everyone wants in on –– including Coca-Cola and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (who still remains staunchly opposed to marijuana legalization).
What does this mean for the CBD business? Well, we already predicted CBD to take off in 2019. But now, "taking off" seems like an understatement. As Erica McBride, executive director of the National Hemp Association, told NBC News, "This bill will make hemp explode."
While it currently seems like a niche industry, CBD will likely become a mainstay in the United States. The market is expected to reach $22 billion by 2022, according to the Brightfield Group, a cannabis and CBD market research company.
Right now, the big question is: What will CBD oil be used for next? (And will you be buying these CBD stocking stuffers?)