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Rite Aid joining growing CBD drugstore chain trend and will pilot products in two states

Kelly Tyko, USA TODAY Published 6:21 p.m. ET April 11, 2019

Rite Aid will pilot the sale of CBD creams, lotions and lip balms at stores in Oregon and Washington, store officials announced Thursday.

"We've heard from many customers about their interest in purchasing CBD products," Chief Operating Officer Bryan Everett said during a call with analysts Thursday to discuss the company's fourth-quarter earnings.

CBD, a hemp-derived cannabidiol, is a nonpsychoactive ingredient in cannabis that is becoming increasingly mainstream.

Everett noted the pilot would "better meet the needs and preferences of our customers in those communities."

Cannabis-based products got a major boost in December when President Donald Trump signed off on an $867 billion Farm Bill that gave a green light for hemp to be cultivated on a large scale.

Unlike marijuana, another cannabis species, hemp has almost none of the psychoactive compounds that cause a user to get high. Now that it's no longer labeled a controlled substance, more businesses have the opportunity to create hemp-based products, from tinctures to lotions.

"At this point in time, we're only offering the topical solutions of creams, lip balms, lotions and we won't be carrying any of the injectables at any of stores as part of the pilot," Everett said.

Rite Aid is the latest drugstore chain to join the growing CBD trend.

In March, CVS introduced CBD-containing topicals, including creams and salves, to stores in seven states.

The following week, Walgreens announced it also would begin selling CBD creams, patches and sprays in nearly 1,500 stores in select states.

Source: https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2019/04/11/rite-aid-cbd-retailer-pilot-sales-oregon-and-washington/3440670002/