Cannabidiol or CBD is the main non-psychoactive compound found in cannabis plants that have generated a significant buzz of late owing to its purported health benefits. The market for hemp-derived CBD products has witnessed the emergence and proliferation of innovative products, leading to the implementation of legislation, which has generated considerable confusion. Though the federal government still lists cannabis as a Schedule I drug, Washington D.C. and 33 US states have legalized marijuana for recreation and medical use to some extent.

However, recent amendments in federal laws relating to cannabis have taken hemp and hemp-based CBD products out of the ambit of legalization. So, technically speaking, the cultivation of hemp and marketing of hemp-based products is now legal in all the 50 US states. Putting things in perspective, CBD and all CBD-based products have ignited unprecedented interest in consumers, the misleading legalese surrounding hemp notwithstanding.

The perception of the adult US population in general and the opinions of the CBD consumers, in particular, have hugely evolved over the years. While nearly 46% of US adults believed that marijuana should be legalized further, about 8% did not back the idea. Nevertheless, almost 50% of the adult populace, by and large, agreed that cannabis should be made more accessible for both therapeutic and recreational purposes. 

How popular is CBD with consumers?

If you are somebody who has even an inkling of CBD and its touted benefits, then you might be aware that cannabidiol is now easily accessible both online and offline. You’ll come across hemp-based CBD products in drugstores, convenience stores, and wellness care retail outlets as well as in e-commerce platforms. Major producers and retailers all over the US promote a mind-boggling range of CBD products, including but not limited to edibles, beverages, healthcare, self-care, and beauty products.

Consumer Reports, a US-based nonprofit establishment that focuses on consumer-based research and impartial product testing, surveyed over 4,000 Americans and found that over a fourth of the US population has sampled CBD. Numerically speaking, nearly 64 million Americans have experimented with CBD or at least one CBD-based item in the past two years. One out of every seven of the total number of respondents iterated that they used CBD daily.

Americans, starting from adolescents to septuagenarians and octogenarians, have some experience of using CBD. The survey also indicated that CBD consumption was most prevalent in individuals in their twenties, as 40% of them said they had used CBD. 

The benefits that customers are enjoying from consuming CBD products 

 The majority of those participating in the Consumer Reports survey reported that CBD consumption led to specific health benefits. 

Anxiety & Depression 

For instance, recurrent CBD use greatly benefited those participants who suffered from anxiety or depression and hence had abnormal stress levels. Interestingly enough, CBD consumption enabled them to steer clear of prescription drugs or OTC medicines, including opiates and opioids. 

CBD, which is sold in a myriad of varieties including pills, topical lotions, tinctures, edibles, and oils, has several health benefits. Brightfield Group, a market research agency dedicated to cannabis, estimates that the market for hemp-derived CBD will burgeon to $22 billion by 2022. Several types of research and studies on CBD have indicated that the compound may have some influence on the human endocannabinoid system. 

Anti-inflammatory & Antioxidant Attributes 

How CBD interacts with our body’s endocannabinoid system’s receptors might affect our feelings and emotions. A good number of medical researchers and scientists are strongly of the opinion that CBD’s interplay with our inherent endocannabinoid system also impinges on our circadian rhythm. 

If current studies and trials are to be believed, then humans can reap maximum benefits from CBD’s anti-inflammatory and antioxidant attributes. That said, periodic use of CBD could go a long way in alleviating anxiety levels, PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), and epileptic seizures. At the same time, individuals beset with hip, knee, and ankle joint issues can expect to get effective relief from sustained CBD use.

Body Pain 

Regular use of CBD in any form also could help individuals deal with backaches, headaches, inflammation, and so on. Consumption of CBD could help improve one’s appetite and stimulate a craving for munchies as well as could help tackle sleeplessness. One good thing about taking CBD is that you may hardly experience any side-effects. 

Nearly three-fourths who took part in the survey told that they did not experience any side effects after consuming CBD.

Conclusion 

Taking into account the bewildering legal status of hemp-derived CBD, cannabis users, especially medical marijuana users, feel that the federal government and also their respective state governments should take effective measures to make CBD more accessible.

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/cbd-has-the-potential-to-harm-you-fda-warns-consumers-2019-11-25

https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/what-you-need-know-and-what-were-working-find-out-about-products-containing-cannabis-or-cannabis

https://www.aaaa.org/u-s-consumers-think-about-cbd-infused-products/

https://www.consumerreports.org/cbd/cbd-goes-mainstream/

https://storebrands.com/consumers-confused-about-cbd-survey-finds

Mars Canada Inc., a leading manufacturer of candy like M&M’S®, SNICKERS®, ORBIT®, EXTRA®, and Skittles®, and Mars Wrigley recently settled a dispute over the use of the Skittles trademark on illicit cannabis products. Federal Judge Patrick Gleeson ordered three online marijuana merchants to “deliver up and destroy all infringing items and packaging” on August 12 in addition to paying different fines for violating Mars’ trademark.

In the motion, Gleeson stated, “I also find that using appropriated trademarks that are obviously and obviously attractive to children in order to advertise and offer for sale a potentially dangerous product represents a marked departure from ordinary standards of decent behavior that deserves to be denounced and deterred.”

“I have given serious consideration to the potential injury to consumers who would mistakenly drink the Defendants’ Infringing Product thinking it to be a genuine SKITTLES product as well as to the Plaintiff. It is even more important to condemn the Defendants’ actions because SKITTLES are a sweet treat that youngsters find appealing, Gleeson continued.

Mars initially filed the case in May 2021, alleging trademark infringement by the unlawful merchants. The business issued a press release saying, “Mars Wrigley strongly condemns the exploitation of popular candy brands in the marketing and sale of THC products, which is profoundly deceptive and irresponsible.” “The usage of Mars Wrigley’s brands in this way is illegal, improper, and it must end, especially to prevent children from accidentally eating these illegal THC products,” the statement reads.

The business particularly highlighted items being sold illegally on e-commerce sites in Canada and the United States under the names “Medicated Skittles,” “Starburst Gummies,” and “Life Savers Medicated Gummies.” These items “represent a substantial hazard to the public since anyone, children and adults alike, might readily mistake the infringing cannabis-infused products for Wrigley’s iconic and beloved candies and mistakenly swallow,” according to a complaint submitted in Riverside, California, at the time.

The National Post claims that Mars employed private investigators to buy imitation goods that violated the company’s trademarks.

Due to the frequent use of “Gorilla Glue” in strain names, the Ohio-based glue manufacturer that makes Gorilla Glue sued GG Strains in August 2017. By October, a settlement had been reached, stipulating that GG1, GG4, GG5, and other adhesives would take the place of Gorilla Glue #1, #4, and #5. Among other conditions, the cultivator’s website domain would be transferred to the Gorilla Glue firm ownership by January 2020.

Ross Johnson, co-founder of GG Strains and Gorilla Glue, was optimistic despite the fact that it was a significant setback. Johnson proclaimed, “We’re going to survive and triumph over it.” “Was there a setback? It is most obviously a setback. However, everything is now behind us, which enables us to advance. Sadly, according to the Cannabis Business Times, Johnson passed away in 2019 and his co-founder Don Peabody (also known as Joesy Whales) in 2020.

Similar legal actions have also been taken in relation to other well-known trademarked brands. The business sued marijuana businesses infringing on the items bearing the Hershey’s Chocolate brand in February 2018. UPS (United Parcel Service) filed a lawsuit in February 2019 against a set of delivery companies known as United Pot Smokers, UPS420, and THCPlant for using deceptive brand identification. Later in July 2019, the creator of the confectionery Sour Patch Kids took legal action against “Stoney Patch,” an illegal cannabis consumable.

Apollon: SA on shopping list after Jamaica

Listed UK pharmaceutical company Apollon Formularies has taken a 49% stake in a joint venture with KwaZulu-Natal cannabis start-up, Tri-Medi Canna (TMC). TMC CEO Bandile says the new company would cultivate, process and distribute cannabis-based medicines through a licensing agreement with Apollon, which provides primary and secondary markets for equity and debt products

Apollan, which listed on the UK’s Aquis Stock Exchange last year, has a licence in Jamaica to cultivate, research, process and sell medical cannabis therapeutic cannabis products for  various illnesses including prostate and breast cancer. Apollon will earn royalties for patent formulations and any new drug discovery will be under the joint partnership. 

According to Businesscann release on 2 March 2022, the deal highlights are:

• “Apollon will receive a gross royalty on sales for all Apollon products sold within South Africa before extending its commercial reach to the wider SADC region under a renewable, mutually exclusive license agreement, the initial term of which is 12 months”;

• “Tri-Medi Canna will become a shareholder in Apollon via share subscription totalling £300,000 over two tranches, the first of which will be for £150,000 at 2.5p per share”.

Mkhize said that the new company would build an EU Good Manufacturing Processes (EU-GMP) facility and would work with emerging farmers and provide training for communities in KZN. 

Focus will be on medical cannabis

He said Tri-Medi Canna was established to focus on medical cannabis, a booming industry that the company said is forecast to be worth up to $7.1bn (R113.7bn) in Africa by next year,  with SA potentially accounting for 70% of that. 

Stene Jacobs, COO of Apollon Formularies for Europe and Africa, said Apollon had been seeking opportunities to expand its operations internationally so it can make its proprietary medical cannabis formulations for various cancer conditions available to a wider patient base. 

He said SA was the first large foreign jurisdiction after Jamaica where Apollon was expanding and it envisaged the local market as a springboard for entry into the rest of southern Africa.

“There is an appetite for what we do. We are already in discussions in Angola,” he said. 

Jacobs said the joint venture would include skills transfer and would partner with the University of KwaZulu-Natal and University of Johannesburg to help develop new products.

BusinessDay Live quoted Jacobs on 19 June 2022 as saying the new JV would double the number of patented cannabis formulations owned by Apollon.

Deal will double Apollon’s patented formulations

“We spent the last nine years creating formulations. We have four international patents, and will have four more in the next few months,” he said. 

In Jamaica it has its own dispensary and treatment centre, which also caters for patients from the UK and US, said Jacobs. He sees SA providing a similar opportunity for medical tourism in the future. 

Jacobs said SA should be an epicentre of growing cannabis, given the favourable climate.  “South Africa has the opportunity to build on its reputation as the regional best-in-class operator and to showcase its already successful cultivation and plant genetics abilities”.

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