Ironically, the Hottest Cannabis Market could be Hemp

by mimi evans

As reported by Forbes Magazine, the market for hemp could grow by 700% in the next 3 years to become a $2.1 billion consumer market by 2020. The clamor for hemp-based Cannabidiol (CBD) has escalated due in part to increased media attention like the 2013 CNN Report about the success of Charlotte’s Web, a ground-breaking CBD product that helped a young girl regulate her epileptic seizures and have a better life. The awareness of the potential benefits of CBD continues to make headlines and advertising claims of hemp-based products. The use of hemp for building materials and fabrics also continues to skyrocket in international markets like China, India, Canada in addition to the US.

Why is it ironic? If you are already in the marijuana business you know the answer.  Those producing hemp (the non-psychoactive cousin of marijuana) know that it actually can’t be “hot” if you want to maintain your legal hemp cultivation license. In this definition, “hot” is defined as measuring above the government limit of .3 % Delta-9 THC in your plant material.

This conundrum could not be more on the mind of hemp farmers as the market for CBD continues to explode. As the cannabis industry grows, regulates, and changes, the need for testing and the methods of testing continue to evolve. Testing labs, created to help hemp farmers, marijuana growers, extractors and marijuana infused product (MIP) manufacturers are popping up in states as the industry expands. The challenge for the growers and extractors is cost and turn-around time as the regulations continue to become more complicated.

Because of the strict regulation for hemp, many farmers are compelled to test and control the “hotness” of their crops from seed to sale. Hemp specialist John Baker of CBD Baker Inc has been in the hemp farming business for over 20 years. He works with hemp farmers in Canada as well as the U.S., to help them produce high quality, efficiently produced and managed crops that are compliant with government guidelines. He is constantly testing new ideas and innovations, such as the LightLab Hemp Analyzer, and evaluating the results they deliver. “I constantly keep my finger on the pulse of the industry to find better ways to identify individuals high in CBD and low in THC to keep seed lines compliant with regulatory requirements.”