CannabisNewsWire
Editorial Coverage: Following the passing of the 2018 Farm
Bill, CBD sales have continued their massive growth in the United
States and beyond.
- Cannabidiol (CBD), a chemical found in cannabis, has seen a
huge growth in sales over the past few years.
- CBD can be derived from hemp, and the passing of a new farm
bill in the States makes this form of cultivation legal at a
federal level.
- This forms part of wider growth in the cannabis market, as
companies expand their operations in North America and even
beyond.
Wildflower Brands Inc. (OTCQB: WLDFF) (CSE: SUN)
(WLDFF
Profile) is among the companies benefiting from this
market, with an increase of more than 300 percent in online sales
for its CBD products last year. Tilray Inc. (NASDAQ:
TLRY) is expanding with its acquisition of hemp foods
company Manitoba Harvest. Canopy Growth Corporation (NYSE:
CGC) (TSX: WEED) announced revenue for its fiscal third
quarter rose more than 280 percent compared to a year ago. In
December, Cronos Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CRON) (TSX:
CRON) announced that tobacco company Altria would be
taking a $1.8 billion stake in the company. And Aphria
(NYSE: APHA) (TSX: APHA) has just completed expansion
projects that allows it to substantially increase its output.
To view an infographic of this editorial, click here.
CBD Drives Growth for Hemp
Hemp, a plant that has long been out of the public eye, is
returning to the spotlight in a big way. A nonintoxicating form of
cannabis, hemp was primarily used for centuries as a natural source
of fibers, which were used in cloth, rope and even building
materials. Many ships in the great age of sailing relied on hemp
for their riggings.
But in the sweeping anti-drug crusades of the 20th century, hemp
became caught up in attacks on cannabis. Campaigners who were
determined to save consumers from their own pleasures had cannabis
outlawed at a time when there was little effective way of
distinguishing between hemp and other forms of cannabis. No longer
needed for cloth and rigging, hemp was made illegal.
Now all that has changed — nowhere more dramatically than in the
United States of America.
The Farm Bill
Hemp is making a comeback thanks to the growing popularity of
cannabidiol (CBD), an active ingredient found in many forms of
cannabis. It’s an ingredient that companies such as
Wildflower
Brands Inc. (OTCQB: WLDFF) (CSE: SUN), a creator of
plant-based health and wellness products, have been making
extensive use of in recent years. Combined with other naturally
occurring plant compounds, full-spectrum CBD is used in a range of
Wildflower products, including capsules, topicals,
soaps, tinctures and vaporizers.
Until recently, the production of CBD in the United States faced
serious restrictions and uncertainties. Many states had legalized
the production of cannabis in some form, either for medical or for
recreational use. In addition, there were licensed trials of the
cultivation of hemp, which can be rich in CBD. But all of these
plants were illegal at a federal level, meaning that even with
state-level approval, cultivators faced financial limitations and
the threat of government action.
All that changed in December with the passage of the 2018 Farm
Bill. One of a regular series of bills governing the U.S.
agricultural sector, this bill removes
hemp from the list of controlled substances, making it
unambiguously legal for farmers to grow hemp. This changes the
landscape for CBD products in the States. Companies such as
Wildflower, which has already got its products into many outlets in
the health and wellness sector, will be able to expand their reach
even further.
States have the right to set their own rules around restricted
substances, and some states have taken an unsympathetic attitude to
CBD. The Farm Bill doesn’t force states to change this attitude,
but there are already signs that public opinion on all levels are
changing. The regulations in many states assume adherence to the
federal guidelines, and some states, such as Alabama, have already
softened their stance since the Farm Bill became law.
Under the Farm Bill, hemp production will
be tightly regulated. Most states already have existing
regulations in place, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture will
be developing its own regulations as well. But for an established
company such as Wildflower, which already works in California,
Washington and New York, this shouldn’t be a problem.
Cannabis companies are accustomed to working in a tightly
controlled environment and meeting the legal standards set by state
legislators, as well as the product standards required by retail
outlets. In that context, working within new federal regulations
shouldn’t present a significant challenge, while the existence of
consistent national standards will create opportunities for
growth.
CBD Demand Grows
The Farm Bill has been driven in large part by the growing
demand for CBD. An obscure and seldom discussed chemical a decade
ago, CBD has emerged as an important consumer product. The gradual
legalization of cannabis and research into its medical effects drew
attention to the fact that those benefits were not all related to
THC, the psychoactive chemical that gets cannabis users high.
Identified as a chemical with great potential for health and
wellness, CBD has started to be marketed in its own right and is
used in products such as the Wildflower Wellness
line.
Public interest in CBD has grown seemingly from nowhere. Tapping
into interest in both cannabis and natural remedies, and offering
treatments that may succeed where others have failed, CBD sales
have soared. Hemp-derived CBD
alone was a $390 million market in 2018 and is expected to
reach $1.3 billion by 2022. And that doesn’t even include all the
CBD products derived from other forms of cannabis.
The results for producers have been staggering. Wildflower saw
its online sales grow by more than
300 percent in just nine months in 2018. In response, the
company opened its first New York retail store, a sure sign of a
product’s popularity in an age when so many companies are shedding
their brick-and-mortar presence.
Looked at globally, CBD is in even better health. The
Brightfield Group has estimated that CBD’s
value will reach $5.7 billion this year and $22 billion by
2022. While research on the topic is still in its infancy,
there is growing evidence that CBD could be used to treat a number
of ailments, including certain extreme forms of childhood epilepsy.
Even the United Kingdom, a country whose government remains
staunchly opposed to the legalization of cannabis, has allowed the use of a CBD drug for this purpose.
Companies producing and selling CBD products are springing up
across North America, Europe and beyond. Demand is growing,
especially among millennials. That’s bolstering the impressive
sales of companies such as Wildflower and putting pressure on
politicians to further liberalize the laws around hemp.
Making the Most of a New Market
A lot of companies are now making the most of the growing
popularity of cannabis, CBD and hemp. With its acquisition of Manitoba Forest, Tilray, Inc.
(NASDAQ: TLRY) is tapping into an extensive U.S.
distribution network and an upcoming line of CBD products. Manitoba
Harvest sells hemp-based granola, protein powder, milk and other
food products at more than 13,000 points of sale across the United
States.
Canopy Growth Corporation (NYSE: CGC) (TSX:
WEED) impressive increase in sales was boosted by the
company’s first sales of legal recreational marijuana in Canada,
which accounted for more than 70 percent of gross revenue. Chairman
and co-CEO Bruce Linton attributed the lift to the company's
decision to make early, "meaningful" investments that helped it
corner a big part of the Canadian market when the law took effect.
Canopy Growth is a world-leading diversified cannabis and hemp
company, offering distinct brands and curated cannabis varieties in
dried, oil and softgel capsule forms.
Cronos Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: CRON) (TSX: CRON),
which became the first marijuana stock to uplist from the
over-the-counter exchange to a major U.S. exchange, appears poised
to benefit from its move with
Altria. Altria now has a 45 percent stake in Cronos, with the
ability to exercise warrants it also received to boost its stake up
to 55 percent. Should those warrants be exercised, Cronos would
receive an additional $1.05 billion. Cronos Group is a globally
diversified and vertically integrated cannabis company with a
presence across five continents. Cronos Group operates two
wholly-owned Canadian licensed producers: Peace Naturals Project
Inc., which was the first non-incumbent medical cannabis license
granted by Health Canada, and Original BC Ltd., which is based in
the Okanagan Valley, British Columbia.
Aphria (NYSE: APHA) (TSX: APHA) recently
announced that Health Canada has granted the company
its license amendment, permitting Aphria to commence production
in an additional 800,000 square feet of facilities at its Aphria
One location, as part of the company’s completed Part IV and Part V
expansions. Headquartered in Leamington, Ontario – the greenhouse
capital of Canada – Aphria has been setting the standard for the
low-cost production of safe, clean and pure pharmaceutical-grade
cannabis at scale, grown in the most natural conditions
possible.
Savvy companies, such as Wildflower Brands Inc., are making the
most of legal moves in the United States and Canada that have
created momentum and exciting opportunities for growth.
For more information on Wildflower Brands, visit Wildflower
Brands Inc. (CSE: SUN) (OTCQB: WLDFF)
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Grafico Azioni Wildflower Brands (CSE:SUN)
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Da Dic 2024 a Gen 2025
Grafico Azioni Wildflower Brands (CSE:SUN)
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