“My father has had Parkinson’s for ten years now. I was able
to introduce him to CBD almost five years ago. You hear a
lot of anecdotal evidence of what CBD can do and I can
confirm it works.”
Mike believes these properties are key to the product’s appeal.
“Despite recent marijuana legalisation, I think on a global
scale, CBD is really where the true growth potential lies
due to its versatility and better image. People will quickly
embrace the physically altering properties of this plant. Once
we have an aging population, and once older people realise
CBD works, this industry could be truly massive. When the
US gets hold of something, they know how to do business.
I think the new Farm Bill will be great for their CBD industry.
The US has also got a lot of southern growing states and
vast amounts of fertile land. There are very few regulations
there compared to Canada. I predict Europe’s future will be
similar to ours.
“As a business, ThreeFourteen is going to be focused on
CBD isolates and being able to get certain supplements to
the market, like protein and pre-workout powders. Products
like that blend well with its muscle recovery properties. Our
initial business model is extraction. Once we extract from
hemp, we can refine it into a full range of hemp products.”
Though in most matters of business, the US is often in
the lead as the default. Mike senses a distinct advantage
Canadian products currently have: ‘the entourage effect.’
“In Canada, because we’re allowed to deal with THC, our
hemp varieties will eventually contain a strain of it too,
whereas everything in America needs to be 100 percent
THC-free. In order for CBD to be fully optimised, it needs
some THC in there as an activating ingredient. Researchers
call this the entourage effect. Until the US goes completely
pro-weed across all states, we won’t see that quality of
product yet.”
CBD is still finding its feet as an integrated global market, and
“ In Canada, the marijuana industry was
worth approximately seven billion
dollars before legalisation… We need
a clearer division, we need to separate
the ‘high side’ of the plant, so to speak,
from the CBD side. ”
every entrepreneur needs to know the hurdles, hindrances
and other growing pains that come with such maturation.
Mike provided an impressive rundown of what he’s observed
at home and abroad.
“I’ve said this for over a year now: if the Canadian government,
Health Canada in particular, don’t get things sorted out
quickly, this whole industry has the potential of sliding by
and losing its edge. It’s not just the US and UK markets that
are on the rise, there’s a lot of South American companies
that are coming on fast and furious. Canada is very heavily
regulated and the amount of hoops businesses need to jump
through to get licensed by Health Canada have really become
harmful. Also, I don’t think CBD should be a Schedule One
narcotic or listed as something illegal in any context. Even
the World Health Organisation is against listing it as any kind
of drug. Canada has taken a position of legalising but closely
watching over product quality and ensuring patrons are safe,
it’s one of the reasons our Prime Minister was able to sell
the public on legalising it.”
With this in mind, there are ways for the hemp and CBD
industry improve its image overall.
“It’s fairly straightforward: we need a clearer division, we need
to separate the “high side” of the plant, so to speak, from the
CBD side. If the line is drawn, CBD can flourish under looser
laws. We don’t have to worry about people driving under
the influence or behaving anti-socially on CBD. If we let the
THC side run its own course and let the people involved
sort out their issues, we’ll see both prosper. Fortunately, the
black market has never really been involved with CBD and
I think as the industry opens up, there won’t be a chance for
criminals to really grab onto it.”
With the experience and encyclopaedic knowledge on their
side, ThreeFourteen CBD is ready to take flight.
“We’re looking to be fully licensed by Health Canada very
soon. We’re built up with our own lab and production facilities.
We’re just waiting for Health Canada to clear our license and
we’ll be ready to go. There is opportunity everywhere.”
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