“Imagine running a race with brand-new shoes and a burst of energy but no idea what the course looks like,” says Kristen Nichols, in the 2019 Hemp & CBD Industry Factbook, “That’s somewhat the position in which today’s hemp industry finds itself.”
From the looks of things, that race is attracting lots of participants. Retail sales of CBD in the U.S. are expected to surpass $1 billion in 2019 – a 133% increase over 2018 sales according to the report, which is produced by the editors of Hemp Industry Daily. Sales may go beyond $10 billion by 2024, it says.
The hemp supply chain from grower to manufacturer to retailer is looking to capitalize on the new legal status of hemp and the growing popularity of the non-psychoactive ingredient CBD, even if the array of over-the-counter health and wellness products lacks medical testing.
Despite ambiguity in the regulations, more are finding employment in the industry.
Read more at forbes.com