The Need for Weed

There’s a need for weed — both from consumers who want to legally try new products that could enhance or benefit their life and from investors looking for the opportunities that are popping up because of cannabis.

Either way, it’s a whole new world for all of us. A lot of entrepreneurs are finding the gold lining that’s involved with starting a business in the market of cannabis and an even more popular part of the plant, cannabidiol (CBD).

If you aren’t aware, CBD is one of the 104 chemical compounds known as cannabinoids that are found in the cannabis or marijuana plant, Cannabis sativa. Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the main psychoactive cannabinoid found in cannabis, and it causes that sensation of getting “high” that is associated with marijuana.

However, CBD is not psychoactive. It doesn’t give you that “high” feeling like THC does. CBD has a different effect that’s considered more appealing because it allows you to be aware and functional.

CBD is becoming a staple in a variety of products, especially pertaining to health and wellness. Right now, science backs CBD because it can relieve pain, reduce anxiety and depression, and alleviate cancer-related symptoms, and it could also have neuroprotective properties and benefit heart health. Other benefits are popping up every day as more studies and research go into CBD.

The list of benefits continues to grow. My dad has recently turned to CBD to help relieve some of his pain. He was in the military for over 30 years, and that took a toll on his body. Of course, that’s in addition to just having an aging body. Heck, I’m 30 years old, and some days it’s hard for me to get out of bed because of my own ailments and pains.

However, my ailments are nothing compared to the pain my dad has in his back. He started taking CBD oil back in November, and so far, it’s been helping him with the pain so he can do the chores he still needs to do around his house. He no longer has back spasms that prevent him from doing those chores.

CBD has been a miracle in a way, and I’m thankful he has found something that allows him to live his life without pain, not to mention a way to take care of his pain without becoming dependent on pain medication.

Dipping into the CBD Money Pot

The amount of startups and publicly traded companies that are shifting their businesses to develop products with CBD or to be somehow related to this market is astonishing. We know the monetary benefits are there and that those are only going to get larger in the years to come as more research and benefits surface.

A lot of companies are jumping on the bandwagon, and for good reason. These products are getting more and more innovative and are enhancing people’s lives, two things that are extremely exciting. New products that help make people feel good without that “high” effect is as good as it gets.

And when I say the number of startups and publicly traded companies is astonishing, I mean it. It doesn’t matter if the company was created for the purpose of providing consumers with CBD products or if it’s a household name like Coca-Cola that’s looking to move its business in the direction of the CBD market. It’s feels really refreshing to see companies pop up and come up with new ideas on how to use CBD to help people and to make a profit.

Ulta and Sephora are popular beauty retailers in the U.S., and they have embraced CBD beauty products from beauty companies. For example, Sephora sells makeup brand MILK’s Kush product line that is made with hemp-derived cannabis seed oil. And Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ: ULTA) announced that it will finally carry a CBD-based brand, called Cannuka. This will be Ulta’s first-ever CBD skincare brand.

Then there’s Matt Lombardi and Kevin Moran, former NHL and MLB star athletes, who have come together to launch their wellness brand, Beam, that offers pure pharmaceutical-grade CBD made from organically grown Colorado hemp.

Kevin Moran had this to say about Beam:

We started looking at the CBD space a few years back and trying some products on our own. We saw some great benefits, but really couldn’t find a brand that met our personal wellness standards. That’s where the journey started….

We use a patented technology to ensure our full spectrum CBD is 100% free of THC. This was a requirement for us given our backgrounds. Full Spectrum oil is the most effective CBD on the market, but most include trace amounts of THC. That was definitely a tough nut to crack in terms of getting to market and something we’re proud of today.

Both Moran and Lombardi are proud of Beam and being able to give these products not just to athletes but also to normal people to help them recover from workouts and sleep better. It’s a product that can be beneficial to everyday aches and pains or the results of a demanding lifestyle, past or present.

Then, on the sweeter side of things, Jelly Belly creator David Klein is sticking with what he knows — jelly beans — with CBD jelly beans. Klein has created 38 flavors, including cinnamon, spicy licorice, mango, toasted marshmallow, pina colada, and strawberry cheesecake. These jelly beans are available in regular, sugar-free, and sour packs. Each bean contains 10 mg of CBD.

The demand for these jelly beans has been so high that Klein’s company, Spectrum Confections, is only taking orders by email and phone. Klein is doing what he knows, but a little better. Klein took something he’s known all his life and has invested his time into the jelly bean-making business, but putting a twist on it to ensure future profitability for his company.

A new estimate from cannabis industry analysts at the Brightfield Group indicated that the hemp-CBD market alone could hit $22 billion by 2022. This market is growing fast, and what I enjoy the most is how refreshing it is to finally see people excited and sharing with the world innovative ideas that will help people.

Until next time,

Monica Savaglia

Monica Savaglia is Wealth Daily’s IPO specialist. With passion and knowledge, she wants to open up the world of IPOs and their long-term potential to everyday investors. She does this through her newsletter IPO Authority, a one-stop resource for everything IPO. She also contributes regularly to the Wealth Daily e-letter. To learn more about Monica, click here.