LIFESTYLE
CBD has become one of the most googled wellbeing trends in US
CBD has become one of the most googled wellbeing trends of 2019
The humble cannabinoid has overtaken veganism, meditation, exercise and acupuncture, ranking just behind yoga, according to an analysis of Google search data by the American Medical Association.
Searches for ‘CBD’ and ‘cannabidiol’ increased by 160% in 2018 from the 2017 figure.
Searches occurred more than twice as often as ‘acupuncture’, ‘apple cider vinegar’ and ‘meditation.’
‘Vaccination’, ‘exercise’, ‘marijuana’ and ‘veganism’ also lagged behind.
Search queries for CBD are now more frequent than searches for Beyoncé and also Kim Kardashian, who recently opened up about her personal use of CBD.
The study’s authors expect CBD Google searches to rise again by 117% this year.
They wrote:
“The findings of this longitudinal cross-sectional study indicate that interest in CBD across the United States has increased considerably and is accelerating.
“While our study is limited in that Google searches may reflect interest in CBD rather than interest in use, search trends are associated with many health-related behaviours.
“Thus, our findings suggest that investigation into CBD should become a public health priority to catch up with the public’s interest.”
There were 6.4million Google searches for CBD in April 2019 alone.
Researchers were able to decipher that Vermont, Wisconsin, Tennessee, Colorado, New Hampshire and Oregon had the most interest in cannabidiol.
States with legalised recreational marijuana were more likely to use the search engine to discover more about CBD.
The researchers concluded:
“While our study is limited in that Google searches may reflect interest in CBD rather than interest in use, search trends are associated with many health-related behaviors, including the rise of electronic cigarettes, years ahead of traditional data.
“Thus, our findings suggest that investigation into CBD should become a public health priority to catch up with the public’s interest.”
Two-thirds of Americans would consider using cannabis or its compounds to manage pain, according to a recent survey.
Meanwhile, two-thirds of Britons erroneously believe that CBD is illegal.
