The CBD (cannabidiol) industry is booming right now, and it’s not showing any signs of slowing down. In fact, it’s expected to grow by 700 percent and reach a $2 billion valuation by the year 2020.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last few years, there’s a good chance that you’ve at least heard of CBD. Maybe you’ve even tried CBD-infused products or know someone who swears by them.

Have you ever wondered how CBD came to be as popular as it is? 

Read on to learn more about the CBD business, how it’s grown, and where it’s expected to go in the future.

What is CBD?

First things first, let’s clarify what CBD actually is. CBD may be very popular these days, but there are still a lot of people who don’t know what it is or how it works.

CBD is a plant compound found in the cannabis plant. CBD is not like THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, which is another plant compound associated with the mind-altering effects of cannabis.

Unlike THC, CBD will not get you high. 

There are many different ways in which CBD can be administered, including CBD oils, CBD tinctures, CBD vapes, and topical CBD products.

CBD can legally be consumed throughout the United States, as long as it is derived from the hemp plant. Hemp is actually a form of cannabis that contains a very small amount of THC — less than 0.03 percent.

CBD Benefits

There are a number of health benefits associated with CBD. CBD has been most heavily studied for its benefits to individuals who suffer from epilepsy and other seizure disorders. CBD does an incredible job of reducing seizure frequency and intensity. 

In addition to being beneficial to folks who suffer from epilepsy and seizure disorders, CBD also appears to help minimize pain and inflammation. It’s especially beneficial to people who suffer from chronic pain, arthritis, or autoimmune conditions.

CBD is also being studied for its anxiolytic (anxiety-reducing) effects, as well as its sleep-promoting benefits. There are a lot of other purported benefits of CBD, too, but these benefits are the most heavily researched.

The History of the CBD Business

How did CBD become so popular? How did a compound from the cannabis plant become something that millions of people are using and loving?

Ancient Medicine

First of all, it’s important to note that CBD has been used for centuries. It was even used in ancient China, so it’s not exactly a new drug. Still, it’s experienced something of a renaissance in the last few years, and a lot of people aren’t sure how.

New Research

Researchers have long known about the medicinal benefits of cannabis. As cannabis began to be legalized throughout the United States and the rest of the world, they found that high-CBD strains of cannabis were the most beneficial to individuals struggling with a wide range of health problems, including seizure disorders.

It was the effectiveness of CBD for reducing seizures that really caught the attention of the Food and Drug Administration and led to the recommendation that the drug Epidiolex, a medication that contains cannabidiol, be approved for use by patients in the U.S.

Since the advent of this drug, a number of businesses throughout the country have started capitalizing on the effectiveness of CBD and have started selling CBD oil and other CBD-infused products.

The Future of CBD

The reason CBD is growing in popularity is the fact that, for many people, it works just as well as, if not better than, other drugs. In fact, nearly half of all people who use CBD end up stopping the use of other drugs completely.

CBD is also effective without causing unpleasant reactions. There are no reports of someone overdosing on CBD. If anything, people just feel a little tired if they take too much.

More Research and Mainstream Use

It’s no secret that the CBD market is going to continue to grow in the coming years. Experts anticipate that it will become even more mainstream and will become a frequently used supplement.

More and more researchers are conducting studies on CBD to see how it can and cannot be used to manage symptoms related to a variety of conditions. 

More Regulation

CBD is also likely going to become more heavily regulated in the future. Currently, there are essentially no regulations on the CBD market.

Business owners aren’t held to any standard when it comes to creating CBD products, so many of the items being sold online are low in quality and don’t yield the results they claim to yield. 

These businesses are starting to be held to a higher standard as consumers become savvier and learn how to spot high-quality CBD products. This, in turn, will likely result in more high-quality products being sold and more regulation over the market in general.

How to Get into the CBD Business

Are you interested in jumping into the CBD industry? Do you want to start your own CBD business, similar to this site?

If you want to start working in the CBD industry, the first step you ought to take is to do plenty of research into CBD, its benefits, the laws surrounding it, and how it can be used. 

You’ll also need to create a business plan, as you would for any other business, and start establishing relationships with suppliers.

Next, you’ll need to start working on building and optimizing a website and spreading the word about your business. There are lots of CBD businesses out there these days, so you’ll have to find a way to make yours stand out.

Learn More About the CBD Business

Now that you know more about the CBD business, how it’s grown, and where it’s likely to go in the coming years, do you think it’s an industry you’d like to break into?

The market is full of CBD businesses right now, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for you, too. If you want to break into the CBD market, now is the time.

Not sure what type of CBD products you want to sell?

Start by doing some research to learn more about the different products and what people would like to see more of. This article on CBD for dogs and other pets is a great starting point.