As CBD increases in popularity, a few CBD trends are starting to emerge that are shaping the marketplace. By understanding what these trends are and where they may be headed, you can make sure you’re getting the best use out of CBD possible.
In addition, by staying abreast of CBD trends in 2023, you are in a position to be a vocal advocate that helps shape the regulatory framework that controls CBD and can have an impact for years to come.
Before the CBD Trends of 2023: A Brief Primer On Cannabidiol
For centuries, hemp was a vital crop for humans who relied on it for cloth, paper, fuel, and well-being. It was only in the 20th century that it became the subject of a smear campaign due to its threat to established industry monopolies that resulted in its eventual listing as a controlled substance indistinguishable from its close cousin, marijuana. As public interest in the potential medicinal benefits of cannabis began to grow in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, legal officials and scientists once again began to examine the commercial potential of low-THC cannabis.
With the 2014 Farm Bill, CBD trends took off as congress authorized a pilot program for the exploration of industrial hemp. The bill defined industrial hemp as Cannabis sativa L.– plants with a THC concentration of 0.3% by dry weight or less. This trace amount of THC means the plants can’t get you high, but they still offer the other active cannabinoids that make CBD so exciting to those looking to promote health and wellness.
In December of 2018, the successor Farm Bill made the pilot program permanent. The USDA was given jurisdiction over industrial hemp agricultural interests and the FDA was in charge of regulating hemp and hemp-derived products in America’s foods and supplements. Many of the CBD trends in 2023 will happen because of the work being done to codify the nascent regulatory structures the 2018 Farm Bill calls for. These decisions will drive CBD trends for decades.
Coming Trends To Watch For
Continued Rapid Market Expansion
For many, CBD’s growth in the last few years has been explosive, but you ain’t seen nothing yet! As customers and investors continue to pour more and more money into premium CBD products, expect the rate of new products entering the market to rise. Many of these will fail, either due to over-saturation, regulatory pressures, or lack of demand, but the survivors will be part of a bigger, stronger industry with better defined CBD trends that are ripe for innovation in their own right.
Increased Focus On Natural Products
Not all CBD is created equal, and as consumers become more familiar with CBD, expect for them to hold their CBD supplements to a higher standard. Organic and naturally-grown hemp-derived CBD will be in increased demand, and formulated products will be expected to use ingredients that are both safer and more eco-friendly.
The USDA Will (Finally) Fulfil Their Program Responsibilities Under The 2018 Farm Bill
The first of our regulatory CBD trends will see the USDA stepping up to do its job for the betterment of the hemp community. For those who are still hostile to the idea of any legal cannabis, the USDA’s slowness to implement a program managing industrial hemp has been a handy tool to wage moral wars on hemp.
Under the farm bill, the USDA was instructed to set up a program to certify hemp production in efforts to avoid the introduction of marijuana into the supply chain illicitly under the guise of legal industrial hemp. Law enforcement officials in some states have used the lack of such program as their rationale for seizing legal shipments of raw hemp, contrary to the interstate commerce protections built into the Farm Bill.
The FDA Releases A New Regulatory Framework That, Literally, No One Is Happy With
Ok, maybe not necessarily a CBD trends 2023 prediction, but this is big news for this year. The FDA has established a commission to evaluate and advise on regulating CBD, and it has strongly been hinted at that increased regulation is on the horizon. It is almost impossible to create a regulatory structure that will make both advocates and detractors happy from coast to coast.
The first iteration of the rules will come out in 2023, and while some parts will be incredibly lax, other factors will cause CBD advocates to accuse the government of overreach. To start our CBD trends list for 2020 here, though, we predict they’ll fix it. It may be slow and piece-by-piece, but the government’s tinkering will cause consumers, manufacturers, and legislators to advocate strongly for CBD’s continued fair legality.
The FDA Will Consider And (Eventually) Grant An Exception Allowing CBD In Food
The state of New York made waves when, in the aftermath of an FDA ruling that CBD was not a safe food additive, they instructed bistros and restaurants to take CBD off the menu even as it is becoming a popular additive to beer, brownies, and other menu items across the country.
FDA policy holds that an active ingredient in an approved drug cannot be used as a food additive. You can still get gummies because they are a dosing form, not a food, but your CBD half-caff latte is technically a no-no. It is in the FDA’s power to grant an exception which we predict they will do–as adding it to the menu is one of the hottest CBD trends in the hospitality industry.
More States Get On Board With Explicit CBD Legalization And Regulation
While the 2018 Farm Bill may have legalized hemp at the federal level, in some states, matters were left unclear. Those that opted into the 2014 pilot program were largely unaffected as their citizens already enjoyed the protection of the law.
States that did not opt-in, however, found that in many cases they were left to play catch up to consumer CBD trends. States with codes that banned all cannabis plants, or had a no-tolerance THC clause, turned their citizens into criminals with each purchase. In 2023, expect this CBD trend to continue to be corrected as the massive potential for tax revenue proves too lucrative for states to ignore.
What You Can Do For CBD
If you want to make sure that the trends of CBD being safe, effective, and readily available continue, start by staying informed. Keep yourself abreast of 2023’s CBD trends and what they mean for you, but it’s up to you to make your voice heard! As regulatory bodies set up frameworks, watch for comment periods or hearings that let you make your voice heard.
Watch for and support laws that protect your right at the federal, state, and local levels to take control of your health and wellness. Finally, shop lab-testing, premium CBD oils, topicals, edibles, and more to support the businesses that are doing the most to keep CBD available to you.
