CBD Up Close

Cutting through the CBD hype

cannabidiol

Look Out for Ben and Jerry’s CBD Ice Cream!

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ben and jerry's cbd ice cream container
CBD ice cream is coming!

In what has to be the sweetest piece of CBD news this year, Ben and Jerry’s is going to get CBD ice cream onto store shelves as soon as it is legal to do so. Cue a collective chorus of happy screams. Or is that just what’s happening in my living room?

Ben and Jerry’s made the announcement in an Instagram post in late May and so far the post has 58,000 likes. OK, so the post says that “maybe, hopefully” they will soon have CBD ice cream, but that’s sort of where a lot of businesses are right now with their cannabidiol products. Remember, cannabidiol is an element in marijuana plants that does not make you high. It is not THC.

But still there are many businesses out there who right now operate in a nebulous gray area, which is an uncomfortable place to be. Be patient, businesses. Do things by the book. Prepare for the eventual legalization of CBD, and most of all, create great products.

At CBD Up Close we look forward to all of the amazing CBD products and business you create and build. And we most definitely look forward to Ben and Jerry’s CBD ice cream and any other companies that decide to create CBD food products.

Have a sweet tooth that can’t wait for the release of CBD ice cream? Check out these gummies. They might do the trick.

A Brief CBD Beginner’s Guide

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In a recent video, Vox Media tries to explain what they call the “booming CBD craze.” The video provides an overview of what CBD is, where it stands in the marketplace and in the mind of the consumer, as well as where it stands in legal and regulatory terms.

The narrator brings up the point that CBD stands right at the intersection of three consumer trends: the $49 billion herbal supplement industry, the growing anxiety economy, and the almost overnight rise of a legal cannabis marketplace.

Exponential CBD Industry Growth

CBD sales have increased by pretty wild percentages year over year since 2014, when there was an estimated $90 million worth of sales. Compare that to the $535 million worth of CBD good sold in 2018. And by the year 2020, there are estimates that CBD products will rake in just under $2 billion for the industry.

This is what they call a growth industry. But for a product this popular, CBD is barely regulated and people don’t even really know much about what it is or what it is supposed to do.

What we Know about CBD

Cannabidiol (the scientific term for CBD oil) is one of the 110 chemicals in cannabis called cannabinoids. THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, is a different chemical altogether, and it’s the one that causes the high associated with marijuana. CBD won’t get you high.

You can imbibe CBD in a few ways. You can inhale it as a vapor, apply it to your skin, but ingesting it as edible oil is one of the more popular ways people are getting their CBD fix, since CBD is naturally soluble in fat, which means it’s easy to add to edible products. This may help explain the apparent ubiquity of CBD products.

There is, however, no proof that CBD cures the ailments that people think it does. CBD does have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that have been shown to treat psychosis, anxiety, movement disorders, multiple sclerosis, and epilepsy and seizures. The FDA recently approved Epidiolex, a CBD based epilepsy drug, but there is not enough research for CBD to be prescribed for joint pain, arthritis, anxiety, depression, lack of appetite, cancer, or any of the other myriad problems for which it is said to provide relief. We do not know a lot about how CBD affects the brain or what doses or delivery methods are most effective.

CBD as a Cure: Things to Look Out For

Forgoing traditional medicine for CBD could pose problems for people with serious illness. And CBD interactions with other drugs you are taking could be problematic as well.

Since they are almost completely unregulated, CBD products often don’t contain what they say they do. The product may not have the cannabinidol claimed on the label (either they have extremely small doses or sometimes none at all) and some of the products may actually also contain THC.

IS CBD Legal?

Depending on which state you live in, CBD may or may not be legal. However, on a federal level it is still technically illegal.

The Drug Enforcement Agency takes the position that CBD is federally illegal, but it will not go after anyone possessing it or using it. Still I wouldn’t go through an airport with CBD.

The World Health Organization, in December 2017, concluded that CBD poses “no public health problems.”

The World Anti-Doping Agency removed cannabidiol from its prohibited substances list.

The 2018 Farm Bill as it stands would legalize CBD and industrial hemp nationwide.

Where We Stand with CBD

The CBD industry is growing. Legality is all but assured. There are powerful entities backing the CBD and industrial hemp industries, we’ve seen signs that financial services companies are changing their tune when it comes to processing payments for cannabis-related products, and there is apparent political will to move the country toward an environment where CBD is completely legal. When this happens, businesses that are prepared will be in a great position to take advantage of this burgeoning market.