The CBD revolution continues to take over America. The anti-inflammatory cannabis compound is the darling of the public eye and for companies, especially those in the health industry this alone makes it an obvious choice to take to market. Drug store and pharmacy giant CVS made waves recently by announcing that they will be bringing CBD products to market in the coming months. According to NBC News, “the national drug store chain will be marketing the topical cannabidiol (CBD) products, such as creams, sprays and roll-ons, as an alternative source of relief.”
Public Perception of CBD Products
Anyone who follows the cannabis industry knows that a major shift in public perception has occurred in recent years. Since cannabis prohibition first began in earnest with the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937, the public perception of cannabis and the cannabis industry has been skewed by the prevailing negative narratives.
CVS Pharmacy is a subsidiary of the American retail and health care company CVS Health, headquartered in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. It was also known as, and originally named, the Consumer Value Store and was founded in Lowell, Massachusetts, in 1963.
However, the recent trend towards state-level legalization has increased public awareness about the medicinal uses of cannabis. This increase in public awareness has also led to an increase in the public favorability of cannabis. Gallup found that the number of Americans in favor of the legalization of cannabis is at an all-time high. They even found that a majority of Republicans now support the complete federal legalization of cannabis.
CBD Products As a Driver of Profit
The CBD market is nearing a boiling point. With legalization occurring more often than ever and public favorability of cannabis continuing to skyrocket, it is only a matter of time before CBD product sales begin to take over the health and wellness market. Some even suggest CBD could become a 20-plus billion dollar industry by 2022. CVS seems to be betting on the marketability of CBD by placing topicals, sprays, ointments, and other cannabidiol products in 800-plus stores in Alabama, California, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland and Tennessee.
Though some may consider CVS “betting on” CBD risky, they aren’t necessarily betting on it just yet. While 800 stores may seem like a high number, CVS actually owns and operates more than 9,800 stores throughout the United States so the initial 800 stores that will be carrying CBD products can be seen as somewhat of a trial run. Should CVS see wide profit margins and an increase in customer traffic due to the sales of CBD products in those 800 stores, it is possible that a number of other CVS stores throughout the country will see their shelves stocked with CBD products in the near future.
Major companies base many of their decisions on what other companies in their industry do. CVS will almost certainly not be the only major pharmacy or drug store to carry CBD products. Whether or not the CVS experiment selling CBD products pays off, it won’t be long until CBD is a regular part of the medicine cabinets of most Americans.
Lane is based in Southern California and is a content curator for Medical Marijuana 411. He spends his free time playing guitar and walking on the beach. He focuses his research into finding informative stories that can help medical marijuana patients better understand their diverse medicine.
