Spotlight: 3 Advantages of Growing CBD-Rich Cannabis Cultivars

The decision of which cannabis strain to grow is among the most important choices a cannabis cultivator will make. Strains produced should reflect the demands and preferences of the consumer, which can be difficult to gauge–especially in today’s ever-evolving cannabis market.

Market research firm Brightfield Group, in partnership with digital cannabis/health platform HelloMD, and with input from more than 2,400 of its cannabis community members (most from California), have helped to shed some light on one cannabinoid that cultivators should consider including among their repertoire: cannabidiol (CBD).

1. CBD Is Popular.

More than 75 percent of HelloMD community members surveyed are regularly using CBD-rich or -dominant products today, versus 71 percent who are using THC-dominant products. While THC use remains prevalent, it is now often used as a supplement to CBD, and has been omitted entirely from many popular CBD-dominant products.

Respondents indicated that CBD’s competitive advantage is that it provides the best medical relief without the high, or paranoia and anxiety sometimes associated with THC. Thus, the medical market for CBD should be expected to remain steady at worst—and at best, increase significantly as CBD’s properties are further studied, tested and understood.

2. CBD Is More Employee-Friendly.

Another substantial group of patients and consumers who can be relied upon to continue or increase their CBD use in the future are workers. The only federally legal employer drug test consists of a THC urine screen that is very unlikely to pick up CBD use, according to a report by CV Sciences.

3. CBD Is More Likely to Be Purchased Through Official Channels.

Among cannabis users surveyed, THC products were about twice as likely to be sourced from personal grows, friends or dealers (versus storefront dispensaries) as CBD products were. So while THC is frequently purchased from dispensaries, this is only one of many competing sources for these products. In fact, for every six THC product purchases made in a dispensary, one is sourced from a personal grow; for CBD purchases this ratio is 12 to 1. Cultivators will therefore be likely to have better luck getting CBD-dominant or CBD-rich inventory out through official retail channels than they will THC-dominant product.

Jamie Schau attained a B.A. in International Studies and an M.A. in International Development from the University of California, San Diego. Since early 2015, she has been a market analyst with Brightfield Group, where she performs quantitative and qualitative analyses of various aspects of the U.S. marijuana markets.