Should you give cannabis products a try? The CBD hype explained

Whether you’re a cannabis enthusiast or not, you’re surely aware of the hype surrounding cannabis-derived products from the past few years. It’s hard not to know about it considering CBD is everywhere these days – from health food shops and supermarkets to dispensaries and e-commerce sites. The market is simply brimming with CBD edibles, oils, topicals, vapes, and other cannabis-derived products. We hear about it on the news, we see it in commercials, we come across them when we shop. It’s virtually impossible to ignore the green rush that’s taken over the world.  

Celebrities have been endorsing cannabis products for years now, and the number of CBD consumers has been rising steadily all across the world. Chances are you know at least one person who’s taking CBD on a regular basis or is an expert on all things cannabis. And let’s face it, it’s hard to resist the temptation of trying CBD products when all you have to do is choose one of the countless options that are laid out in front of you.  

However, before you jump on the CBD bandwagon, you might want to find out what’s behind all this craze and why CBD has experienced such a huge surge in popularity in recent years. Getting educated on the topic is essential if you want to figure out what CBD is all about and if it’s worth giving it a try or not. 

This article will provide answers to some of the most common CBD questions people have, so keep reading if you want to expand your CBD knowledge and gain a better understanding of the green phenomenon. 

Relaxation of laws

Cannabis consumption is far from being a new thing. In fact, its history can be traced back to 2800 BC in central Asia or western China, where cannabis was used for its healing properties. There are certain sources staying that Queen Victoria was a big fan of this controversial plan, being prescribed CBD-rich cannabis for cramp relief. Whether that story is true or not, we can’t tell for sure, but the one thing we know is that people have been well-aware of cannabis benefits for thousands of years now and they’ve been using it intensely ever since. By the late 1800s, cannabis extracts were widely commercialized across Europe and the United States, in pharmacies and doctors’ offices, as a remedy to treat stomach problems and other health issues. 

So, why did it take so long for CBD and cannabis-derived products to gain the wide popularity and acceptance they enjoy today? The answer is simple: legal restrictions came along and put an end to free cannabis consumption. In 1937, the Marijuana Tax Act criminalized the sale and possession of all hemp products, except the ones used for industrial purposes. Legislation tightened once again in 1970, through the Controlled Substances Act of 1970 that listed cannabis as a Schedule I drug—along with heroin, LSD, and ecstasy. Basically, it was considered to have no medicinal benefits, but great potential for abuse. 

The Compassionate Use Act of 1996 saw the regulations relax a bit when California became the first state to legalize the use of marijuana for medicinal for people suffering from severe or chronic health conditions. Since then, 29 states in the US have followed its example and allowed the use of medical marijuana on their territory.   

But the most notable change happened in 2018, when the Farm Bill was passed, removing industrial hemp (the cannabis variety that contains less than 0.3% THC) from the list of controlled substances, and thus hemp-derived CBD became legal at the federal level. This doesn’t mean that all legal issues have been removed. Some states still have legal restrictions on CBD possession, so for now, the compound remains in a gray area. However, the relaxation of laws has helped fade some of the stigma on cannabis and thus contributed to CBD’s rise in popularity and the craze surrounding delta 8 vapes and other cannabis-derived products.   

Greater cannabis awareness

Another aspect that supported the widespread of the cannabis phenomenon was the rise in cannabis awareness. People nowadays enjoy easier access to information than ever before, so they can get educated on any topic that might interest them, including CBD and other related subjects. The public can find out about cannabis poperies directly from the experts or access the results of scientific research on CBD, THC, and other cannabis compounds with ease. 

As people are expanding their knowledge on cannabis, the myths and misconceptions related to it are being debunked. Consumers are more educated and aware of both the advantages and disadvantages of consuming CBD, and they’re replacing assumptions with facts. The fact that cannabis research is also advancing, slowly but surely, also helps a lot. There are still many questions left unanswered, but we have a lot more information available than we had a few decades ago. 

Marketing wonders

CBD products wouldn’t be as popular as they are today if some good old marketing strategies wouldn’t have come into play. Like any other product on the market, CBD products also needed a bit of promotion to catch consumers’ attention. Despite the advertising restrictions, cannabis producers and distributors have found creative ways to make their products known and increase their appeal. 

Celebrity endorsement is one of the methods that have functioned the best at drawing attention to CBD products and increasing their popularity. Morgan Freeman, Whoopi Goldberg, Jennifer Anniston, Alesandra Ambrosio, Olivia Wilde, and Gwyneth Paltrow are just some of the A-listers who love CBD products and are not afraid to talk openly about this. Apart from that, many CBD brands rely on anecdotal evidence from consumers on the benefits of consuming CBD to attract more clients to their business.

Although there’s a lot more to the cannabis industry than the factors that we’ve listed above, they did play a major part in fueling the CBD hype that we’re witnessing right now. Whether you want to join the green rush or not, it’s up for you to decide, but no matter what you choose, make sure you do your due diligence beforehand.