The CBD craze continues to pick up steam. With the Canadian CBD market blowing up, dispensaries around the country are now struggling to keep CBD products in inventory.
So much so, in fact, that some experts think the country’s current CBD shortage will extend through most of the year.
Canada’s CBD Market is Exploding
When weed became fully legal across all of Canada last fall, the country’s legal industry almost immediately struggled to keep up with demand. Now, in some sectors of the industry, supply is starting to match demand.
But not so with CBD. In fact, the country is seeing what many experts are describing as an unexpected CBD boom.
In particular, dispensaries around the country are seeing CBD products fly off the shelves at such a rapid pace that producers simply cannot keep up. As a result, when retailers run out of CBD products they often find themselves unable to order more.
At this point, many experts see the shortage as the result of a general underestimation of the popularity of CBD and CBD products.
Many players in Canada’s legal cannabis industry think most companies simply assumed THC products would be the most popular. At the same time, these experts say, many failed to predict just how popular CBD would become—especially for older consumers and consumers new to cannabis.
“I don’t think the licensed producers really realized how popular CBD was, so there’s none available, really.” cannabis business owner Krystian Wetulani told Canadian news outlet CTV News.
He added: “When something becomes available on the cannabis wholesale ordering sheet, everybody tries to get all that’s available. It’s like a race. That’s one of the biggest opportunities we’re facing in the legalized market.”
Currently, dispensaries and suppliers operating in provinces around the country are reporting shortages.
And according to CTV News, these shortages could last through most of 2019. Possibly even beyond that.
The CBD Craze
In many ways, news of Canada’s CBD shortage is not all that surprising. That’s because CBD is seeing a marked surge in popularity across North America.
Much of this popularity is due to recent legal changes in Canada and the United States that make it easier to produce and sell CBD products.
According to CTV News, Canada implemented more relaxed rules for the production of CBD-rich hemp last October.
And in the U.S. the Farm Bill of 2018 introduced significant changes for CBD. Perhaps most notably, the Farm Bill moved hemp off the list of Schedule I illegal substances. Similarly, it also legalized the interstate commerce of hemp, including hemp-derived CBD products.
Along with these legal changes, pop culture has become increasingly aware of CBD.
For example, a number of companies introduced CBD products last month in honor of 4/20. Among other products, this included a specialty CBD hamburger from Carl’s Jr.
Similarly, high profile celebrities have also been getting on the CBD bandwagon. Last month, Kim Kardashian announced that her baby shower was going to be “CBD-themed.“
All of this is fueling the rapid and ongoing growth of the CBD market, which experts predict will hit
$2.1 billion by 2020. 
