Walgreens to Sell CBD Products in 1,500 Stores
[dropcap class=”kp-dropcap”]W[/dropcap]algreens announced on March 27 that it will sell an assortment of items infused with cannabidiol (CBD) including topicals, patches and sprays. The products will be available at Walgreens locations in Oregon, Colorado, New Mexico, Kentucky, Tennessee, Vermont, South Carolina, Illinois and Indiana.
Just a week ago, CVS announced it would be selling CBD-infused items at locations in eight states, and it didn’t take long for Walgreens to follow suit. The company didn’t specify which brands of CBD-infused items it will be selling. “This product offering is in line with our efforts to provide a wider range of accessible health and wellbeing products and services to best meet the needs and preferences of our customers,” Walgreens spokesman Brian Faith told CNBC.
In a blog post, Walgreens clarified the basics of understanding medical cannabis and how it works. The company even supported the fact that cannabis has been used medically for at least 3,000 years. Walgreens and many other drugstores have been looking for a way into the cannabis industry without breaking the law for some time.
While the latest Farm Bill essentially legalized hemp-derived products, and The Centers for Disease Control acknowledges its therapeutic benefits, the FDA bans it as a food additive or as a supplement. “Based on available evidence, FDA has concluded that THC and CBD products are excluded from the dietary supplement definition under sections 201(ff)(3)(B)(i) and (ii) of the FD&C Act, respectively,” the FDA posted. So far however, it appears that products like topical or sprays are not explicitly banned by the FDA, and that’s how large companies like Walgreen’s or CVS appear to be getting away with it.
It’s clear to see why companies like Walgreens and CVS are so anxious to get involved. According to Fortune, Walgreens’ stocks soared 31 cents per share on the day it was announced. The slow but steady progress were seeing in the CBD market is a sign that we’ll see a lot more companies jumping on the bandwagon.
