Seedbanks (companies that produce cannabis seeds) see the potential of adding more CBD-rich strains to their assortment, but before we get into their newly developed strains, let’s cover some background.
The amount of CBD being produced is skyrocketing. According to Statista, the total U.S. consumer sales increased from $262m to $813m between 2016-2019. Today, all kinds of CBD products are being manufactured, CBD pharmaceuticals, CBD cosmetics, CBD supplements, CBD shampoo, CBD dog-food, you name it… and seedbanks are taking note.
The Charlotte Figi story broke out in 2013. Charlotte was a small girl at the time, suffering from hundreds of seizures a week caused by her Dravet syndrome. Meanwhile, a company named Stanley Brothers developed a cannabis strain with a 30:1 ratio of CBD and THC, respectively, which they called “Hippie’s Disappointment”. After Charlotte’s parents decided to turn to CBD-medicine (developed from this particular strain) as a last resort, her seizures dropped from 300 seizures a week to almost zero. After witnessing how this strain worked wonders for Charlotte, Stanley Brothers decided to change its name to “Charlotte’s Web”.
Black jack CBD by sweet seeds
After this story broke out, seedbanks reacted by hybridizing CBD-rich cannabis strains into their seed assortment. Strains with a 1:1 CBD and THC ratio, considered by many as the golden entourage-effect ratio, were entering the market at a rapid pace. Cannabis strains such as CBD Compassion by Dutch Passion, Black Jack CBD by Sweet Seeds, and Spicy CBD by Philosopher Seeds developed as a part of this trend. Today almost every prominent seedbank has incorporated strains with a 1:1 ratio.
Today, seedbank companies are taking this trend further than before. Strains with a minimum amount of THC and an elevated amount of CBD have entered the market.
Few examples: Swiss Dream CBD by Kannabia produces 7% CBD and only 0.22% THC, Sweet Pure CBD® by Sweet Seeds produces 8-15% CBD and only 0.4-1% THC, CBD Fix by Zamnesia Seeds) produces 6-7% CBD and only 0.3% THC and Dinamed CBD by Dinamed Seeds produces 10-14% CBD and only 0.5% THC.
Parallel to the development of CBD-rich varieties by seedbanks, Swiss companies sell the actual cannabis flowers containing high CBD-levels and low THC-levels. The companies are officially selling the product as a “tobacco substitute” to comply with the domestic laws, which don’t fall under the EU jurisdiction because the country is not a member state. The flowers also needs to contain less than 1% THC. Companies such as Uweed and Swiss Breeders sell these CBD-rich flowers through their online stores.
Today, other cannabinoids are attracting attention like CBN, CBG, CBGA, THCV, and CBC. We can expect that the seedbanks will hybridize, stabilize, add special strains to their assortment, and market them as having a significant amount of each specific cannabinoid, and terpenes for that matter. Ace Seeds are one of the very few seedbanks that provide testing reports of their strains, which illustrates the demand of today’s customer, in comparison with the old days, when cannabis was just plain ol’ cannabis.
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