Turning Over A New Leaf
-SJB
3 minute read
Last week, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released an unforeseen statement: they firmly warned Curaleaf, a medical and wellness marijuana operator, against their current branding.
Curaleaf’s CBD (the non-intoxicating compound produced by marijuana) products claim to “treat cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, opioid withdrawal, pain, and pet anxiety.” The FDA’s statement ordered Curaleaf to remove these misleading claims within fifteen days. As a result of this ruling, Curaleaf lost its partnership with pharmaceutical giant, CVS Health.
As much as the FDA may try to slow down companies like Curaleaf, the CBD trend is blatantly on the rise. CBD lotions, soaps, and facial cleansers have seemingly become popular overnight, with brands like CBD For Life quickly entering huge retailers like Urban Outfitters.
Previously written off as a hippie drug and a festival cliché, marijuana has recently saturated the market as a new trend. Are businesses following XXXTentacion’s advice to “mix a little bit of weed with a little bit of cash”? Is being anti-weed a dying breed?
The marijuana trend: puff, puff, or pass?
Marijuana and fashion have always been closely linked (“best buds,” if you will). Alexander Wang’s marijuana-inspired collection started quite the controversy when it was promoted by Nordstorm. Bella Hadid modeled a marijuana leaf Bulgari necklace during Milan’s Spring/Summer 2019 fashion week, as part of the brand’s “High Jewelry” line. Vetements recently debuted a necklace that doubles as a marijuana grinder, available in gold and silver at a whopping $750.
This season, Viktor & Rolf made a splash in the marijuana industry with their Spring/Summer 2019 runway. The collection, titled “Fashion Statements,” featured a bright green dress adorned with a huge marijuana leaf.
Until now, the use of marijuana promotion has served one specific purpose: to make a statement. Between Wang’s “controversial” collection and Viktor & Rolf’s “fashion statements” runway, fashion undoubtedly uses marijuana for the buzz and attention.
But do CBD companies have the same goal?
Let’s take a closer look (just roll with me for a minute): Recess, a sparkling CBD-infused drink, has just opened a pop-up shop in NoHo. The soda brand offers a variety of flavors, all concentrating on their promise to grant “balance and clarity.” Recess’s famous tagline is “Calm. Cool. Collected.”
By Chloe, a famous vegan restaurant in NYC, is also rolling with the CBD trend: they are soon launching their CBD-infused dessert menu. The line, titled “Feelz by Chloe,” is the largest line of CBD products to hit NYC this year. By Chloe partnered with marijuana lifestyle company, Nice Paper and CBD/marijuana producer, Toast in order to add the CBD oil to their sweets.
Charlotte Palermino, co-founder of Nice Paper, explains that the CBD “activates your serotonin receptors after a certain level, so you should be feeling anti-anxiety benefits.”
Whereas Bulgari and Viktor & Rolf are attempting to cause an uproar with their drug-infused fashion, it doesn’t seem like CBD companies are looking for shock value. Instead, the CBD industry seems to be attempting to rebrand marijuana.
In a way, CBD products, like Recess and Feelz by Chloe, are trying to rid marijuana of its drug stigma, and are concentrated on “resetting and rebalancing” and “anti-anxiety.” CBD is not marketed as marijuana for wishful stoners--their audience is trendy millennials and the newfound obsession with self-care.
Christianna Silva speaks about the self-care trend in her article for NPR. Because of our generation’s awareness of mental health, we are devoted to self-care, and improving our state of mind.
Self-care products are often sold in the form of beauty or health. With this trend on the rise, CBD companies are grabbing the opportunity to rebrand.
Kush Queen, a beauty company, created a line of bath products incorporating CBD. Instead of promoting marijuana to be risqué, the company is turning over a new leaf: the products promise to “uplift your mood.” Self-care blogger Tiffany Whitmore promotes Kush Queen, explaining that the products “guided my meditation and reflection on processing personal success.” In the words of Recess, our generation is focused on having “a balanced state of mind.”
Safely Naturals, a CBD health company started way back in 2015, is a “fresh approach to feeling better” and focuses on “improving well-being.” They sell a variety of CBD products, ranging from pain relief lotions to sleep aid body oil. Interviewed by Megan Hernbroth, co-founder Kerrigan Behrens speaks about the stigma of CBD. “Recently, someone called me a ‘destigmatizer,’” she says. “I believe cannabis is the next stigma that needs to be broken and I believe the time is now.”
With the days of anti-drug education behind us, can businesses really rebrand something as controversial as marijuana? As Governor Cuomo signs a New York bill decriminalizing marijuana, are we looking at the future of self-care?
Is it possible for marijuana to become a budding industry?
To be blunt: it already is.
