Vannesa Moreno, of West Haven, graduated from Southern Connecticut State University in 2014. She had planned on being a lawyer, but said “life got busy.” Instead, she found a full-time job, bought a house, and opened her own CBD store at 75 Washington St. in North Haven.

Moreno, who immigrated from Bogotá, Colombia nearly 20 years ago, started the business – Your CBD Store – in November of 2019, but postponed the grand opening until this September because of the pandemic.

Moreno said trying CBD products from a friend’s store in Milford helped her deal with her anxiety, so she eventually decided to open her own shop in North Haven. “I was a consumer first,” she said. “I tried the products, and oh my God, they were so wonderful. I think I started noticing the difference within two days.”

Since hemp-derived CBD was legalized in Connecticut in 2019, a number of retail locations have become part of a new multi-billion dollar retail industry. The latest statistics from Cannabis research firm Brightfield Group project that the US hemp-derived CBD market is expected to reach $5 billion in retail sales in 2022. 

The Brightfield report also explained that CBD companies have been seeking to define CBD’s place in the wider wellness landscape, with some leaning into the historical associations with cannabis and others focusing on creating supplement-like products that address specific needs.