When it comes to the smackdown suffered by the U.S. hemp industry over the last three years, most injuries were self-inflicted.
As an assortment of charlatans pitched get-rich-quick schemes, and self-appointed “leaders” and “experts” amassed around CBD, the true potential of hemp – in the food, construction, biocomposites and other major sectors – got lost in the shuffle, and worse: The CBD hustle put a stink on hemp that has set the industry back years.
In the runup to passage of the 2018 Farm Bill and the months that followed, CBD products massively proliferated, showing up everywhere from marijuana dispensaries to the local gas station convenience store. Estimates by the end of 2019 showed that 13 million users contributed to a total market of $4.5 billion virtually overnight. CBD sales grew anywhere from 25-40% the following year.
But even that robust performance was well below expectations for what was hyped as a “breakthrough” product – the canary in the coal mine.
To read more, click on Hemp Today