With recreational marijuana set to be legalized in Canada on Oct. 17, a number of big companies are inching closer to jumping into the market by selling cannabis-related products, including retail giant Walmart.
“As we would for any new industry, Walmart Canada has done some preliminary fact-finding on this issue, but we do not have plans to carry CBD products at this time.”
According to the Financial Post, Walmart Inc.’s Canadian arm is just the latest to explore the possibility of selling marijuana-based products made from cannabidiol, or CBD, a naturally occurring, non-psychoactive cannabinoid that can be extracted from marijuana. CBD has been shown to help with a number of health maladies.
Per the Finanical Post:
“As we would for any new industry, Walmart Canada has done some preliminary fact-finding on this issue, but we do not have plans to carry CBD products at this time,” spokeswoman Diane Medeiros said in an email, referring to cannabidiol, a non-psychoactive compound found in cannabis plants.
Interest in CBD products has been booming in the past couple of years, with several large alcohol and consumer products companies studying CBD’s commercial value.
Coca-Cola Co. said last month that it’s “closely watching the growth of non-psychoactive CBD as an ingredient in functional wellness beverages around the world.” Constellation Brands Inc., the maker of Corona beer and Robert Mondavi wine, has indicated an interest in selling CBD-infused drinks through its partnership with Canopy Growth Corp., and Molson Coors Canada Inc. has formed a joint venture with Hexo Corp. to develop cannabis beverages.
PepsiCo Inc.’s shares actually took a dip last week after the company said it was not considering investing in cannabis.
CBD is thought to help with a number of minor and even major health problems from pain and inflammation to anxiety, sleeplessness and even seizures. It is currently the product of multiple clinical trials being conducted in Canada, including a Canopy study on sleep and Tilray Inc.’s research into Dravet syndrome, a rare form of pediatric epilepsy.
“Health and wellness consumers are beginning to find value and use cases from CBD-based oil extracts, tinctures, topicals and capsules to improve everyday life,” Cowen & Co. analyst Vivien Azer wrote in a research note Tuesday. “We expect to see CBD used as a functional ingredient in non-alcoholic beverages.”
Tilray has been one of the hottest, most volatile stocks on the market of late. The company’s shares are trading at $128.84 on Oct. 9 morning after peaking at $214.06 on Sept. 19. Banyan Hill senior analyst Matt Badiali has identified his No. 1 stock pick for the legalized marijuana market. He reveals everything you need to know about this stock during his recent Marijuana Investment Symposium which you can watch absolutely free here.
