As you’re likely aware, the legal cannabis industry has a split personality. While enthusiasm remains strong and is getting stronger for botanical products such as cannabidiol (CBD), the investment component of the same market has gone from bad to worse. However, we may have hit a bottom thanks to the longer-term potential of the pet CBD market.
Last year, the overall pet care industry hit $225 billion in North America, which is an astonishing number. Consider that in the third calendar quarter of 2019, total e-commerce retail sales in the U.S. was over $154.5 billion. No matter how you cut it, our love for our furry friends is a massive cash cow. Ultimately, this should help drive the booming pet CBD market.
Moreover, manufacturers within the pet CBD industry are aligned perfectly with demographic trends. Unsurprisingly, among the most ardent supporters of legal cannabis are Millennials. As both cannabis users and representatives of progressive social mores, they have every incentive to support legalization initiatives.
But Millennials also love pets. As many young Americans delay family rearing, pets help fill the emotional void. Furthermore, a societal shift in treating pets as children is palpable. Say what you want about this development, one thing is clear: Americans love their pets and that’s an underdiscussed catalyst for the weed industry.
Pet CBD: It Works or It Doesn’t
Admittedly, research into the efficacy of pet CBD products and therapies is non-existent. Without this data, it may appear difficult to convince pet owners to take the plunge. After all, you’re giving cannabis a try not because of its recreational impact, but because of its therapeutic potential.
That said, research into this arena is beginning, if only for the fact that the pet industry is incredibly lucrative. Better yet, pet owners are giving it a go, assuming that what works best for humans – as in natural therapeutics – would work well for animals.
From anecdotal evidence, they’re apparently not misguided.
Peruse reviews of pet CBD products and you’ll come across multiple testimonies of owners swearing to their efficacy. Granted, some of the reviews could be fake. And a very real possibility exists that people are seeing what they want to see.
But given how attune many pet owners are to their four-legged friends, I’m willing to grant some credibility to these claims. And we should note an interesting concept: CBD products for pets either work or they don’t.
Consider that with human medical trials, a medicine must beat the placebo effect before it can move to advanced trials. But with animals, the placebo effect is to my knowledge non-existent. The therapy either works or it doesn’t.
Even if this arena is complete BS, you can’t deny the power of the industry. A few marketing tweaks and we could see another surge in cannabis stocks.