Data

The 10 States Most Interested in CBD

By Melena Gurganus
Esteban Lopez, Unsplash

You may think interest in CBD oil, a cannabis derivative, is concentrated in states like Colorado, California, or Oregon where marijuana is recreationally legal and the population is more exposed to CBD. It’s possible those states have a stronger interest, which lead to the passage of legislation that legalized hemp on a federal level. But we found interest in CBD is more widespread—and a couple of the top states in terms of CBD interest surprised us.

We compiled data from Google Trends, internal site traffic, brand leaders, and our conversations with industry thought leaders to get a picture of where interest in CBD is most concentrated. We found that Indiana, Oklahoma, and Vermont were the states that showed the most consistent interest in CBD.

Here’s a list of the top ten states in America for CBD users:

  1. Oklahoma
  2. Kentucky
  3. Indiana
  4. Vermont
  5. Colorado
  6. California
  7. Florida
  8. Tennessee
  9. Oregon
  10. North Carolina

(If you’re wondering what states are least interested in CBD, we consistently found Maryland, Virginia, and Washington D.C. at the bottom of lists when we looked at the data.)

Gerson Repreza

1. Oklahoma
Oklahoma recently had to expand a large hemp festival to meet increased demand. Also, looking at Google Trend data, Oklahoma consistently ranks in the top three states whose residents are searching for information about CBD.

2. Kentucky
Kentucky was one of the first states to develop a pilot program for hemp research and cultivation after the Farm Bill passed in 2014, and farmers have seen that hemp can outperform other crops like tobacco. Because of this, some CBD companies source their hemp from Kentucky, and many brands have started to pop up within the state as well.

3. Indiana
There’s no doubt that CBD has garnered interest from every corner of the country, but Indiana has seen remarkable popularity in CBD products since officially legalizing them in March of 2018. Indiana aims to look out for consumers when buying CBD products in a “buyer beware” industry, and the state has enacted labeling laws that require all CBD products to show customers lab test results to validate the levels of CBD, THC, and other cannabinoids within the product.

4. Vermont
As one of the more recent states to legalize marijuana, Vermont has also been a prominent player in the hemp and CBD market. There are more hemp farms and investment opportunities for the crop, and some CBD brands have started in Vermont, where they thrive among the growing interest in hemp and its extracts.

5. Colorado
As one of the first states to legalized marijuana, Colorado is well known within the cannabis industry, and is now a thriving center for hemp farms and CBD brands to source their products from. Colorado is also home to many shops that sell CBD in store; CBD derived from marijuana is legal in this state.

6. California
California is home to the highest number of CBD shops/dispensaries, according to Remedy Review’s survey. This state is also a good option for CBD users since some of the lowest prices for the cannabis extract can be found in California shops. There is no shortage of cannabis crops within this state, whether extracted from hemp or marijuana, there are plenty of options to choose from in California.

7. Florida
Florida has some of the highest rated CBD shops, and the state has a growing interest in the potential of hemp. The Sunshine State recently passed a bill in 2017, allowing for industrial hemp pilot projects to take place, possibly leading to more hemp farms and cultivation throughout the state.

8. Tennessee
Setting the stage for a “sleeping giant” to awake within the hemp marketplace is Tennessee, where CBD oil and other hemp extracts are gaining popularity and instilling confidence in those that are interested in hemp. Just last month, the state housed the first ever Southern Hemp Expo, where over 100 hemp-related businesses were featured and CBD products were a big hit.

9. Oregon
Oregon is another state which gave way to marijuana crops first, and its farmers are now transitioning to growing hemp instead. Oregon has seen a steady increase in hemp cultivation since 2015, and is second only to Colorado in terms of what state grows the most hemp.

10. North Carolina
As one of the top 10 agricultural producing states, North Carolina farmers are interested in the potential of hemp, and several farms have started growing hemp this year after receiving approval to participate in the state’s hemp pilot program. On top of the cultivation potential of hemp crops in NC, the state has shops that sell CBD and other hemp products to fill the demand of consumers.

Here’s a snapshot of search data around key cannabidiol-related terms.

Searching for “CBD” in the last 12 months (Google Trends Data)

Searching for “CBD Oil” in the last 12 months (Google Trends Data)

Search volume for “CBD Oil Benefits” (Google Trends Data)

People in Indiana and Oklahoma are among the people most interested in the potential benefits of CBD. So are these states next in line to push for broader access to cannabis? Or might the search volume be tied to curiosity?

“Vermont wasn’t a surprise when we saw them in the numbers,” said Marc Lewis, executive editor at Remedy Review. “But I was surprised to see Indiana and Oklahoma so consistently in the top five. Those big, key search terms can be linked to early in the consideration process, so maybe interest is new people starting to educate themselves on the health potential of cannabis.”

In Oklahoma, medical marijuana is now legal and Indiana is close to passing medical marijuana laws. This may explain why so many people are investigating CBD online.

Indiana and Oklahoma are two of the states most often searching to find out if CBD is legal. Leading in volume there is Idaho, a state where CBD is currently illegal.

Searching for “Is CBD legal” (Google Trends Data)

When we spoke to a distributor of CBD, the trend of unlikely states continued. Elliot Galdy is the CEO of Hybrid Health, a company located in North Carolina that sells its own CBD product, as well as leading brands like Endoca.

“We have been shipping to non-7606 states and even some 7606-compliant states because these places don’t yet have a functioning CBD industry,” Galdy said, suggesting interest is not necessarily aligned with state regulations. He also said local leaders have a major impact on awareness and access. “Here in North Carolina, Commissioner Steve Troxler has done a great job of making sure regulations don’t get in the way of growing the industry.”

About Remedy Review

Remedy Review is focused on advancing the wellness of people through unrivaled content. Designed to help people separate fact from fiction in the natural health space, Remedy Review writes about the exploding market around hemp and CBD, provides objective product reviews, and profiles leading minds in the natural health space.

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