New analysis by a marketing research group suggests the hemp-derived cannabidiol (CBD) market could growing dramatically over the next several years and quickly outpace the market for legal marijuana.
According to a report from the Brightfield Group, the hemp-derived CBD market could reach $22 billion by 2022.
Bethany Gomez, director of research for the Brightfield Group, told Rolling Stone magazine that hemp-CBD has moved out of specialty retail shops and into cosmetics, natural food products and health supplements.
“It’s being used for everything you can think of – sports, triathlons,” she said. “People want to buy it for their grandma, for arthritis. Women get it for PMS and endometriosis — common things that people have been using over the counter medications.”
Gomez acknowledged there are limits on the hemp-derived CBD market due to current federal prohibitions on cannabis. But those restrictions could change quickly, depending on whether Congress passes the 2018 Farm bill – which would legalize hemp cultivation nationally.
