By The Right Hosts / WORLD MONEY IN TRANSIT / FOX Business / March 8, 2019
It seems that any financial news today revolves around something that either appears to be a fad, a trend or downright a topic of conversation. Whether it is cryptocurrency, digital tokens, blockchain, blockchain alternatives and ethereum… the list goes on. Perhaps the best answer I have come across is to not let what others do affect you.
The latest news that I have read might bring a flood of fear into your mind when you think that this might be the end of the world. A company owned by rockstar Bryan Adams recently tested positive for synthetic cannabidiol, or CBD, the non-psychoactive cousin of marijuana. We all know this as CBD but the issue is a little more complicated than that.
People with epilepsy and other medical conditions are searching for the non-psychoactive side of cannabis to ease their symptoms. To give you an idea of the significant size of the market, one doctor estimated that there are over 20 million patients in North America and Europe alone using medical marijuana. To put into perspective the size of the medical marijuana market compared to that of the entertainment and entertainment only industry, consider these numbers:
Market size in U.S.: $5.6 billion
Market size in EU: $7.2 billion
Market size in Japan: $3.8 billion
Market size in Canada: $1.2 billion
In the U.S., we will probably see more restrictions put in place as the DEA has been reluctant to make any determinations regarding medical marijuana, but that does not mean that the industry is safe.
In the United States, there is very little protection from a criminal prosecution for marijuana possession and the growing battle for medical marijuana is getting more active every day.
The courts are making it harder for medical marijuana patients and doctors by limiting the authority of those who use this natural plant extract. It has also been established that marijuana can be regulated at a federal level, which requires this to be discussed and researched at the same time the substance is being legalized at the state level.
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What this means for the larger population is that there will likely be more restrictions put in place including restrictions on availability. I predict that this will lead to higher prices due to supply issues. Hopefully the legislators will look at the statistics on marijuana and see the potential for millions of dollars in job growth while preventing problems for marijuana users that cannot afford to use CBD oil. I am sure that there are a few big money players in this story and if CBD oil can solve a lot of the problems for patients, the companies that produce CBD oil should be capitalizing on the growth and profits.