Major League Baseball (MLB) shocked the pro-sports world in early 2022 when it gave the green light to teams looking to sign sponsorship deals with companies in the CBD industry. Now the league has made another big step in signing their first CBD sponsorship with one of the industry’s biggest names: Charlotte’s Web.
The deal opens the door for Charlotte’s Web Holdings to market itself as the ‘Official CBD of MLB’. The company will also be able to market their products using the MLB logo. It is expected that first Charlotte’s Web promotions will start showing up during the 2022 World Series.
Not the Same Thing as Marijuana
It should be made clear that CBD is not the same thing as marijuana. Like THC, CBD is a cannabinoid found in cannabis plants. Yet CBD products are derived from industrial hemp rather than marijuana, which makes an enormous difference.
Utah cannabis dispensary Beehive Farmacy explains that both hemp and marijuana are varieties of cannabis. The medical cannabis pharmacy carries medical products derived primarily from THC-heavy marijuana. Charlotte’s Web manufactures its products from industrial hemp.
The difference between the two plants boils down to THC content. Any cannabis plant with a THC volume in excess of 0.3% is considered marijuana. Plants under that threshold are considered hemp. Industrial hemp is a strain of cannabis that is purposely bred to keep THC content as low as possible.
CBD’s Supposed Health Benefits
Both industrial hemp and CBD products were made legal across the United States with the 2018 Farm Bill. Since then, companies like Charlotte’s Web Holdings have been pushing the supposed health benefits CBD offers. The term ‘supposed’ is used because clinical scientific evidence is lacking.
That being said, countless CBD users swear by its ability to reduce pain and inflammation. A few studies seem to back that up. Other potential health benefits include:
- reduced anxiety
- nausea and vomiting relief
- improved neurological function
- reduced blood pressure
- improved sleep.
Although this post discusses the ‘supposed’ health benefits CBD offers, the benefits mentioned here haven’t been pulled out of thin air. They all have limited historical and scientific backing. As far as the science is concerned, the only real issue is that it isn’t conclusive. But that does not mean it isn’t promising.
CBD Is Big Business
Medical science aside, CBD is big business in this country. Since the industry came into its own in 2019, billions of dollars’ worth of CBD products have been sold. Consumers cannot seem to get enough.
You can buy CBD tinctures, edibles, topical treatments, and more from your local pharmacy or grocery store. You can find CBD at department stores, convenience stores, and even gas stations. Then there are all the online retailers that seem to be a dime a dozen these days.
What does all this mean to MLB? It means getting their piece of the CBD pie by way of sponsorships. But don’t think that companies like Charlotte’s Web are getting the short end of the stick. They are getting a lot out of the deal too.
Getting CBD Out There
Unfortunately, CBD companies are somewhat hindered by the fact that people don’t understand the difference between hemp and marijuana. Hemp and hemp-derived CBD products are unnecessarily hampered by the ongoing debate over marijuana legalization.
Signing with MLB as an official sponsor gives Charlotte’s Web the opportunity to get the CBD message out there by way of one of America’s most iconic sports platforms. Meanwhile, MLB has the opportunity to show that it’s on board with a substance people clearly want more of.
