The popularity of CBD has increased exponentially in the last few years. For many decades consumers focused on THC, however, that has evolved a great deal in the second half of this decade.

CBD has been billed as possessing a number of wellness qualities, with some claims being well-founded and others not. Unfortunately, there is a great deal of misinformation out there about CBD. That is what happens when an industry is growing at a rapid pace and people are scrambling to try to build their fortune from riding an industry wave.

As far as CBD has come in recent years, it is still a very young industry and savvy entrepreneurs know that the landscape is going to shift a lot in the coming years. 2019 was a record year for hemp licensing in the United States, as recently reported by Vote Hemp:

“Since the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill, hemp cultivation in the U.S. has grown rapidly. The number of acres of hemp licensed across 34 states totaled 511,442 in 2019—more than quadruple the number of acres licensed from the previous year. State licenses to cultivate hemp were issued to 16,877 farmers and researchers, a 476% increase over 2018.”

The acres of hemp that survived are about to be harvested (or already have been) and a significant amount of the hemp is going to end up being sourced to make CBD products. More United States CBD products are about to flood the market than ever before.

It begs the question – what impact, if any, will that have on the prices for CBD products in the United States? In a long-established industry, an influx of supply would lower the price. However, the CBD industry is different because it is so new.

More and more consumers are using CBD products with every passing day. It’s possible that consumer demand in the United States will grow alongside the increase in the number of CBD products in the marketplace and perhaps exceed supply.

It’s also possible that demand could lag compared to how much supply is hitting the market, and market prices could get slashed to calculate for it. Many farmers and entrepreneurs have placed a lot of hopes and resources into this year’s hemp harvest with most eyes on the CBD market. It will be interesting to compare CBD prices from earlier this year to whatever prices are at around the end of the calendar year.

One thing is for sure, the popularity of CBD is going to continue to increase into the foreseeable future, and that’s good news for entrepreneurs that can successfully navigate the shifting landscape.