When it comes to currently trending products and ideas, there’s a huge chance that it was started by millennials – enter CBD Flowers.

Despite their negative reputation in the media, millennials are compassionate, progressive and innovative problem solvers that are really the fire fueling the cannabis and CBD movements. If it wasn’t for millennials, these industries wouldn’t exist, at least not on the massive level on which they exist today. Seeing as how they’re the backbone of the industry, it makes sense that CBD Flowers are a growing trend amongst millennials, let’s take a look at why.

Defining “Millennials”

Millennials are the demographic group between Generation X and Generation Z. Millennials are sometimes referred to as Generation Y, although that’s not as common. It’s widely accepted that the defining age range for millennials is those born between 1981 to 1996, however, those numbers vary slightly based on who you ask. As someone born in the early 90s, I’m smack-dab in the middle of the millennial time frame.

As of July 1, 2019, millennials are officially the largest living adult generation, surpassing Baby Boomers, who were born between 1946 and 1964. Although millennials get a lot of flak for being easily offended, entitled, and even lazy – this stereotype only applies so a small percentage of the millennial population. And let’s be real for a minute here, people of all ages can be easily offended, entitled, and lazy.

Millennials have brought forth many societal issues to the American people, exploring subjects like racial and ethnic diversity, civil liberties, women’s advancements, and equal rights. Millennial women, just like Gen X women, are more likely to participate in the nation’s workforce than prior generations of women.

Growing Popularity of CBD Flowers

According to a new market research report published by Markets and Markets earlier this year, the hemp industry is expected to see a compound annual growth rate of around 34%. The report, titled “Industrial Hemp Market by Type (Hemp Seed , Hemp Seed oil, Hemp Fiber, and CBD Hemp Oil), Application (Food, Beverages, Personal Care Products, Textiles, and Pharmaceuticals), Source (Organic and Conventional), and Region – Global Forecast to 2025″, predicts the hemp market will reach USD $26.6 billion by 2025.

Breaking it down further, one of the fastest-growing sectors of the hemp industry is smokable CBD flowers. Although this is a rather volatile market, there’s no denying that demand for CBD flowers is growing exponentially, not just in the U.S. but throughout the rest of the world. Hemp flowers have been popular in Europe for quite some time already as cannabis-users in many European countries prefer low-THC flower.

Research from Brightfield Group, a Chicago-based cannabis industry research firm, the smokable hemp/CBD flower market was roughly $71 million at the close of 2019. This is a 500% increase from 2018, when the market totaled only ­­­­$11.7 million. They didn’t provide any information about projected numbers, but as you can see, that’s a huge year-over-year increase.

According to Brightfield analyst Bethany Gomez says they discovered this growing trend by calling retailers, including smoke shops, spas and natural-food stores, to find out what they were selling. Many of these stores, including those that sell CBD flowers, are frequented by millennials and gen z sh

Why CBD Flowers Are So Popular

I can’t speak for why CBD flowers are so popular among this specific demographic, but I can definitely think of many reasons why someone (of any age) would chose to try them. First and foremost, they’re super relaxing; but in a different way than regular cannabis. While regular cannabis will actually make you feel a certain level of high (stoned, baked, lit, or whatever you want to call it), CBD flower chills you out with no psychoactive effects. You can unwind after work or out with friends but still have a clear head and keep your wits about you.

It’s also legal, which is a huge selling point for anyone concerned about breaking the law. Following the 2018 Farm Bill, all forms of hemp – defined as having very low levels of THC – became legal in the U.S., but we’ll touch more on that a bit later. As far as low THC goes, it’s also more likely that you’ll pass a drug test if you’re only using CBD Flowers, but that’s not 100% guaranteed.

The price point is another plus side to using CBD flower, as it’s usually considerably cheaper than high-quality THC-dominant cannabis. Many online retailers often have great deals on ounces and pounds that can be shipped directly to your home. If you need help finding good-quality CBD flowers at a low price, check out our newsletter – The CBD Flowers Weekly.

A survey conducted by Acosta found that the key CBD demographics are millennial men, most of which have a college degree. Forty-eight percent of male survey respondents said they use CBD daily or “as-needed”, compared tos 28% of female participants.

Health Benefits of CBD

If you search online, you’ll find there is a claim for CBD helping with nearly every medical condition under the sun. Although a lot of these notions can be attributed to misinformation, placebo effects, and some over-ambitious advertising, there are a few conditions that actually have been studied thoroughly and respond well to CBD treatments. Most commonly, CBD is used for anxiety and depression, chronic pain, inflammation, and epilepsy.

The only FDA-approved CBD-based medication, Epidiolex, is used to treat two rare forms of epilepsy: Dravet Syndrome and Lennox-Gestaut Syndrome. Not only is this medication used in the United States, it’s also has large market in Europe under the name Epidyolex, and it has also been cleared for clinical trials in Japan.

A lesser known but equally important therapeutic use for CBD is to help people kick their addictions to various substances. Over the years, multiple studies have been published outlining how CBD can do wonders for those who are hooked on cigarettes, alcohol, and/or opioids. Habitual use of these substances is not only dangerous to the individual, but there are major societal repercussions as well.

What’s the Legal Situation Here?

Honestly, it’s still all very confusing and continuously changing. To quickly sum it up, it’s legal thanks to the 2018 Farm Bill, but highly regulated. Before we can get into the legalities of hemp, we need to look at how the government defines hemp.

According to the FDA, hemp is defined as “the plant Cannabis sativa L. and any part of that plant, including the seeds thereof and all derivatives, extracts, cannabinoids, isomers, acids, salts, and salts of isomers, whether growing or not, with a delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of not more than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis.”

Hemp, both industrial and smokable CBD Flowers, are NOT regulated as controlled substances. However, any manufactured product containing cannabis or hemp extracts (ie – cannabinoids) still is. That means CBD, medications, supplements, and cosmetics are still technically illegal unless they have been subjected to FDA-approval, which is a tedious and costly endeavor.

This policy isn’t slated to change anytime soon, the only difference is that now, Epidiolex can be manufactured and sold as non-controlled substance. In the United States, most medications such as those for blood pressure, diabetes, heart conditions, and other common illnesses are not considered “controlled substances”. Medications that can cause intoxication and/or those that lead to mental and physical dependence, like opioid pain medications for example, are regulated under the controlled substances act because there are restrictions on the way these prescriptions can be filled and refilled.

Final Thoughts

You may have thought that Boomers were the largest demographic shopping for CBD flowers, but it’s actually millennials. As a group that’s focused on innovation, wellness, and homeopathy, it makes sense they would gravitate toward CBD flowers, as well as other cannabidiol infused products.