The global cannabidiol, or CBD, market is exploding, with analysts projecting it will hit 22.05 billion by the year 2030. That’s nearly 20% of the size of the global soft drinks market even though CBD was only legalized in the U.S. in 2018 while the soda market has existed here for nearly 200 years.
In a few short years, CBD products have sprouted up everywhere and are available for purchase in the form of oils absorbed on one’s tongue, edibles such as gummies, candies, foods, pills or beverages, topical applications of ointments, creams or lotions absorbed on one’s skin, and inhalation by vaping or smoking.
What is CBD?
CBD is a chemical compound largely derived from hemp in the cannabis (marijuana) sativa plant. The plant has over 85 chemicals that are identified as cannabinoids, but cannabidiol is the most frequently used one for medical purposes due to its lack of psychoactive effect.
There are three main types of CBD:
- full-spectrum CBD, which contains all beneficial compounds naturally found in the cannabis plant;
- broad-spectrum CBD, which contains only some such compounds;
- and CBD Isolate or “pure CBD,” which doesn’t contain any delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, nor any other compound from the hemp plant.
Legally, no CBD products can contain more than 0.3% (by dry weight) of THC, the mind-altering substance in marijuana known for its psychoactive effects.
Because of this, “CBD is not intoxicating and will not make you high” as some people…
