DENVER — In light of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) putting pressure on manufacturers and retailers regarding flavored vaping products, the emerging category of cannabidiols (CBDs) may fill in the gap, according to an industry analyst addressing a recent CSP-hosted forum on the emerging medicinal-remedy category.
Addressing about 90 retailers and suppliers at the CBD and the Future of Cannabis Conference in Denver via a live internet connection, Vivien Azer, managing director of Cowen, New York, said that with the FDA successfully talking companies such as San Francisco-based Juul Labs into removing its creme, cucumber, fruit and mango vaping-pod flavors from retail shelves, CBDs in a format similar to pods in closed-vaping systems could possibly fill the void.
“With CBD vape, arguably it can take up space with the removal of e-cigarette flavors outside of tobacco and mint flavors,” she said. “You’re seeing it in New York.”
While drawn from raw materials such as cannabis and hemp plants, CBDs contain trace amounts to no tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the element that can get users high. At the same time, CBDs retain the wellness properties that many people seek.
Cowen has projected the CBD business to hit $80 billion by 2030, which other speakers at the CSP-hosted forum on CBDs called a generous number. It’s a prediction prompted in part by President Trump signing the 2018 Farm Bill, which legalized hemp in the United States, as well as the way CBDs cut across many product forms, including gummies, tinctures, capsules, topicals, beverages, health and beauty items and vapor; and CBDs' underlying properties reportedly address anti-inflammatory and anti-anxiety issues (according to CBD enthusiasts).
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