Martha Stewart on investing in Canopy Growth: 'It's an alternative to opioids’

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Lifestyle guru and businesswoman Martha Stewart believes that cannabis and cannabinol (CBD) products are an “alternative to opioids,” which is why she invested in Canadian cannabis company Canopy Growth (CGC).

“Well, it's the modern thing, and it's an alternative to opioids of course,” the founder of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia told Create & Cultivate Founder Jaclyn Johnson recently. “That's what it's being hailed as, and if anything can help with that crisis, that would be good. We still are doing a tremendous amount of research in the cannabis industry.”

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK - MAY 04:  Jaclyn Johnson and Martha Stewart attend Create & Cultivate New York presented by Mastercard at Industry City on May 04, 2019 in Brooklyn, New York. (Photo by Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images for Create & Cultivate)
Jaclyn Johnson and Martha Stewart attend Create & Cultivate New York presented by Mastercard at Industry City on May 04, 2019 in Brooklyn, New York. (Photo credit: Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images for Create & Cultivate)

The U.S. opioid crisis has escalated to a public health emergency in recent years. The CBD market overall is expected to reach $20 billion in the United States by 2024, according to BDS Analytics and Arcview Market Research.

Stewart added that while the jury was still out on whether CBD products are really effective or if they are “as good as we all think it is,” the potential to relieve stress in animals is something she’s holding out hope for.

TODAY -- Pictured: (l-r) Martha Stewart and Ann Curry appear on NBC News' "Today" show  (Photo by Peter Kramer/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)
TODAY -- Pictured: (l-r) Martha Stewart and Ann Curry appear on NBC News' "Today" show (Photo by Peter Kramer/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)

“I have a lot of animals, and I would love to be able to relieve stress or arthritis or other kinds of problems that my horses, my dogs, my cats experience,” Stewart said. “We’re working on that first, and we’re working on additions to human food stuffs, and also on cosmetics.”

While the CBD pet market in particular isn’t as massive, it’s still significant: In 2017, sales of cannabis products specifically marketed for pets netted nearly $7 million in California, Colorado, Oregon and Washington.

Snoop Dogg, left, and Martha Stewart pose in the press room at the MTV Movie and TV Awards at the Shrine Auditorium on Sunday, May 7, 2017, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)
Snoop Dogg, left, and Martha Stewart pose in the press room at the MTV Movie and TV Awards at the Shrine Auditorium on Sunday, May 7, 2017, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)

Snoop is ‘a lot of fun to work with’

Stewart also talked about her friendship with famed hip hop artist Snoop Dogg — who is also invested in Canopy — and said that “he’s a lot of fun to work with.”

“Snoop and I became friends on my show,” explained Stewart. She first invited him on The Martha Stewart show back in 2008, and they both became friends over “a creamy bowl of spuds and a few words that Martha had yet to learn,” according to her website. He made a return to her show a few years later.

Aarthi is a writer for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter @aarthiswami.

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