Coke's possible foray into the marijuana industry comes at a time when beverage makers are trying to add cannabis as a fad ingredient as their traditional business slows. Last month, brewer Corona Constellation Brands Inc. announced it would spend $3.8 billion to increase its stake in Canopy Growth Corp, the Canadian marijuana producer with a value that exceeds C$3 billion ($10 billion).
Molson Coors Brewing Co. is initiating a joint venture with Quebec's Hydropothecary Corp. to develop marijuana drinks in Canada. Guinness brewer Diageo PLC is in discussions with at least three Canadian cannabis growers about a possible deal, BNN Bloomberg reported last month. Heineken NV's Lagunitas craft beer label has launched a brand specializing in non-alcoholic beverages infused with THC, the active ingredient in marijuana.
Coca-Cola is already diversifying as soda consumption continues to decline. The company, with its iconic brands ranging from Coca-Cola and Sprite to Powerade, announced it will acquire the Costa Coffee chain for US$5.1 billion in August and has expanded into other products, including juice, tea, and mineral water in the last decade.
There is nothing new about companies experimenting with this cannabis beverage. For instance, hemp, a nonpsychoactive form of cannabis, has so far dominated the health-related and medicinal products industry for thousands of years, from the seeds that people eat to the clothes they wear to the beauty products they use. Nevertheless, Coca-Cola's stamp of recognition brings cannabis products to a higher level of credibility.
Why have hemp and CBD, which are non-psychoactive cannabis products, become so popular? As well as its psychoactive THC, CBD is described as one of "the most prominent pharmacologically relevant constituents" of the cannabis plant in a study published last year.
It exerts several beneficial pharmacological effects, the authors write, but it is not intoxicating. As low doses, this compound has numerous physiological effects related to promoting and maintaining health, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and neuroprotective effects.
While there is still confusion regarding CBD's legal status, the DEA rescheduled a drug that contains CBD derived from cannabis last month. CBD moved from Schedule I to Schedule V, which is much less restrictive. There is only one drug that is affected by this development presently, but it is a significant development that may lead to other drugs in the future.
Those effects are purely pharmacological, however. Other fields are also seeking ways to integrate CBD into their product portfolio, developing products with cannabis-derived CBD that may have significant effects on consumers seeking health and wellness.
Discussions with Aurora are focused on CBD-infused beverages to relieve inflammation, pain, and cramps, according to the BNN Bloomberg report. CBD, or cannabidiol, is the pot plant chemical often used for medicinal purposes and does not produce the drug that comes from THC or tetrahydrocannabinol. There are no guarantees of any agreement between Aurora and Coca-Cola, according to the report.
Heather MacGregor, a spokeswoman for Aurora, said in an e-mailed statement that the cannabis producer has expressed specific interest in the infused beverage space and intends to enter that market, said David George-Cosh of BNN Bloomberg. You can check some more of this CBD beverage info in this video:
Although marijuana remains illegal on a national level in the United States, there is growing acceptance of the use of marijuana-derived CBD to treat conditions ranging from chronic pain to anxiety and epilepsy. The first medical treatment derived from a marijuana plant will hit the US market soon, after regulators in June gave the green light to an epilepsy treatment from GW Pharmaceuticals Plc.
Aurora is Canada's third-largest cookware company, with a market value of C$8.7 billion. The Edmonton, Alberta-based company fired along with other marijuana stockpiles in Canada as the country prepares to become the first Group of Seven nation to legalize cannabis on Oct. 17. over the past 12 months, although it fell 24 percent in 2018 due to concerns that stocks are overvalued.
Did you learn about this beverage and the wonders of a marijuana-derived CBD beverage? You can learn some more of this info in other blogs:
