The CBD boom in the USA

The latest legal development concerning hemp in the USA is that you can now travel by air on domestic flights while in possession of CBD products. This is one more step in the development of the hemp market in the United States, a market that has grown exponentially since the legalisation of cannabis at the end of 2018.

The CBD renaissance in the United States

On 20th December 2018, Donald Trump legalised low THC (less than 0.3%) industrial cannabis at the federal level. A decision that marked the rebirth of the CBD market in the USA after decades of prohibition. Hemp, like other products, was prohibited in the United States in the 1920s. The Marijuana Act, passed in 1937, classified hemp as a controlled substance. The use of cannabis was restricted again in the 1970s with the Controlled Substance Act, which prohibited its use even for medical purposes. 

This demonisation of cannabis has been losing momentum for some time. A few years ago, some states, such as California and Colorado, adopted more flexible regulations. These pioneering states have authorised medical hemp, and even home use. This movement gradually gained momentum and led to a change in federal regulations. Since the beginning of the year, hemp and its derivatives have been free to circulate in the United States like any other agricultural product. They are also no longer controlled substances. The latest development is that the Transportation Security Administration, which is responsible for air transport security in the USA, has just authorised the possession and transport of CBD products and "light" hemp flowers in luggage when travelling by air on domestic flights. After having been at the forefront of cannabis prohibition, the USA has become a pioneer in the production and consumption of hemp!

The CBD boom in the United States

The federal legalisation of cannabis has very quickly resulted in a huge increase in CBD production and consumption. The area of land used for cultivation quadrupled between 2018 and 2019. The main producer is Colorado with 17,000 hectares of cannabis, which is equivalent to the amount of land in French industrial hemp production! This is followed by Oregon and Montana. Tennessee, Arizona and Michigan, where hemp cultivation is experiencing rapid development, come third. According to the Hemp Cultivation Landscape report, published by scientists, cannabis cultivation is expected to increase by a further 75% over the next 4 years to reach one million hectares under cultivation by 2023. With an income of around $40,000 per acre (or 0.4 ha) when the market is mature, hemp provides very promising prospects for farmers. Currently, it is estimated that 87% of the cannabis produced is for CBD extraction. This percentage is expected to stabilise at around 82% in 2023. 

The rapid growth of the CBD market has not come without its challenges. For example, American farmers currently favour cloned plants to produce only female hemp, which is richer in CBD, particularly if there is no cross-pollination. This leads to shortages of certified feminised hemp seeds and clones. 

It is frequently said that legislative and social developments in the USA will reach Europe sooner or later. So, when will CBD be legalised in Europe?