In the wake of progressively expanding legislation opening legal cannabis markets across the U.S., we've discovered that today's cannabis consumer comes from all walks of life, and product branding can take myriad viable forms.

Passage of the 2018 Farm Bill nationally legalized non-psychoactive cannabidiol (CBD) derived from industrial hemp. With this level of growth comes the need for more-sophisticated equipment, technology, and strategies to meet a far-greater demand for cannabis-infused foods and beverages.

Companies looking to establish or fine-tune the parameters required for production of cannabis-infused foods and beverages need to take a hard look at their supply chain.

In order to meet diverse product needs related to protection, shelf life, overall quality, branding, safety, and local regulatory requirements, customers often leave cannabis dispensaries with products featuring multiple levels of redundant packaging. The industry is in need of a more-streamlined approach.

Ever since the advent of legal cannabis product commercialization, companies developing and producing these infused foods and beverages have sought viable equipment to help them create consistent, high-quality products for recreational and medical cannabis consumers.

Just a little over one year from the point of launching this publication, we are taking things to the next level with a unique event to fill some rather large gaps in the cannabis food and beverage industry.

As reported by BDS Analytics, consumer spending on cannabis-based foods and beverages reached an estimated $1 billion in 2017 in the U.S. and Canada—and is projected to grow to more than $4.1 billion in those countries by 2022.

The FDA recently held a hearing designed to include information and views related to the safety of cannabis edibles and beverages—with a strong emphasis on cannabidiol (CBD) ingredients—as well as to solicit input relevant to the agency's regulatory strategy for existing products.

While records of medical and therapeutic use of cannabis go back thousands of years, several points in history proved instrumental to furthering the ongoing body of research.