Was Cannabis Legalization the Biggest News of 2018?

A lot has happened in the cannabis market this year. There’s no denying it — it was a big year for cannabis.

But that doesn’t come as a surprise to us here at Wealth Daily. We’ve been watching the lucrative opportunities of this market long before it became trendy, and, well, we’re still watching those lucrative opportunities and keeping an eye open for the best ones.

A report from Forbes indicates that cannabis is a $9.2 billion market that’s on track to explode to a $47.3 billion market in just a few years. And that’s just for North America.

Marijuana legalization has been one of the biggest news stories in 2018, and we could continue to see that trend going into 2019.

Within the past year, Michigan and Vermont legalized recreational marijuana use, and Utah and Missouri have approved medical marijuana programs. Not to mention, the entire nation of Canada decided to allow people to use cannabis.

Could 2019 Be a Bigger Year for Cannabis?

David Goldstein, who works with a cannabis information company called Potbotics, said that 2018 was a huge year for marijuana, and 2019 could be even bigger.

He said, “What I would like to see in 2019 is de-schedulization. From a Schedule One drug that says marijuana has zero health benefits. To either a Schedule Two or Schedule Three.”

As of right now, the federal government has classified marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug, falling in the same category as heroin. The Drug Enforcement Administration classifies Schedule 1 drugs as having “no currently accepted medical use in the United States, a lack of accepted safety for use under medical supervision, and a high potential for abuse.”

What’s even more shocking about marijuana’s classification is that deadly and highly addictive drugs like prescription opioids, including some preparations of fentanyl, are classified as Schedule 2 controlled substances.

Studies are being released that indicate cannabis’s medical use and how it can improve the lives of people with medical ailments that have been difficult to treat.

Once we get legalization on a federal level and reclassify marijuana, we could see a lot of improvements throughout the U.S. Goldstein says there is a lot to be made from the drug, and he hopes to see the Justice Department clarify banking rules for marijuana businesses.

In addition, leaders in Illinois are looking at marijuana as a way to help fund everything from potholes to pensions. The possibilities seem endless right now, and it’ll be a source of income that could improve state economies as well as the nation’s economy.

While we wait for full legalization, cannabidiol (CBD) oil has also experienced a huge surge in popularity. There has been a wide range of products introduced in 2018.

The Demand for CBD Oil

Cannabidiol is one of the hundreds of compounds found in the cannabis plant. CBD oil has a variety of advantages such as helping a person with pain, seizures, and anxiety. The list of therapeutic benefits of the oil continues to grow as we learn more about it.

Heck, you can even go on Amazon and browse (and buy) a variety of products that contain CBD oil. There’s even CBD oil you can use for your pets! 

In the past few years, CBD products have become one of the biggest trends to consumers. Bethany Gomez, director of research at Brightfield Group, named the explosion of CBD products as one of this year’s biggest trends.

She said:

You can’t turn around without hearing about or seeing CBD — on the shelves of thousands of retailers nationwide, on the pages of mainstream publications like the Wall Street Journal and Vogue, celebrity Instagram feeds… and among the medical community.

Last week, Congress passed the 2018 Farm Bill and sent the 807-page document to the president for his signature. A lot of experts in the cannabis and CBD oil markets are anticipating the decision of the 2018 Farm Bill because it’ll help take CBD to the next level of legitimacy.

Jessica Assaf, the cofounder of a forthcoming hemp CBD brand and an education platform called Prima, had this to say about the bill:

There’s still a lot of confusion around CBD, and [the Farm Bill] adds an extra layer of clarification. Spelling it out will be really helpful in making adjacent industries, like manufacturers and retailers, more comfortable and excited.

This industry is brand new, and the growth and opportunities that are ahead are going to be amazing, but right now it’s still a little difficult to navigate what’s legal and what isn’t. This has a lot of people hesitant to become a part of the industry or buy a product with CBD oil. And that’s because we’re in the learning curve.

Right now is the time to learn more about these industries and where they’re headed, in addition to staying informed on the latest laws about cannabis and hemp CBD.

We may be in a learning curve now, but once everything sorts itself out in the next few years — and it will sort out — you’ll be happy that you followed along the way and read about the investing opportunities in these lucrative industries

After all, a recent report from the Brightfield Group has indicated that the hemp-CBD market alone will hit $22 billion by 2022. There shouldn’t be a doubt in your mind that both the cannabis and hemp CBD market is going to be huge in the years to come, and you’re going to be glad that you followed along with us.

Until next time,

Monica Savaglia

Monica Savaglia is Wealth Daily’s IPO specialist. With passion and knowledge, she wants to open up the world of IPOs and their long-term potential to everyday investors. She does this through her newsletter IPO Authority, a one-stop resource for everything IPO. She also contributes regularly to the Wealth Daily e-letter. To learn more about Monica, click here.