High time.

Byline: Zarrar Khuhro

SINCE we're always looking for ways to boost imports, and since we are told that it's a good idea to think outside of the box, here's a budding idea: cannabidiol, or CBD oil as it is widely known. This is a chemical component of the cannabis plant, the local variant of which we know as the bhang plant (you know, the ones you often find growing wild on the side of the road up north). Obtaining CBD is fairly simple, and only involves extracting the chemical from the cannabis plant and then diluting it with carrier oil like coconut oil or something similar.

Here one must point out that CBD, even though it is extracted from the cannabis plant, is NOT psychoactive (it can't get you high) unlike tetrahydrocannabinol which is the psychoactive component found in the cannabis plant. In fact, CBD can also be extracted from the hemp plant - a phenotype of the cannabis plant which has no psychoactive properties whatsoever - though the demand for hemp-extracted CBD is considerably less. Basically, what I'm saying is that I am categorically not promoting the use of narcotics here so please don't file a petition against me.

CBD is now a billion-dollar industry in the US alone.

With that disclaimer out of the way, let's return to why I'm talking about CBD in the first place. CBD is being touted as the next best thing in 'natural' healthcare, and is said to relieve pain, possibly reduce anxiety and depression and even alleviate symptoms related to cancer and the side effects of cancer treatments such as nausea and vomiting. Naturally, the jury is still out on some of these supposed benefits, but that hasn't stopped CBD oil from becoming the next big health craze with millions singing its praises worldwide

CBD has also made inroads into Pakistan, and a simple Google search shows many Facebook-based businesses and online shopping sites selling CBD oil. Since this is a largely unregulated industry there is no way to actually gauge the effectiveness or composition of these products, but it is safe to say that it is a small but growing domestic market for it as well.

But the real money is in export, and Pakistan needs to grab a piece of this lucrative pie. How lucrative? Well CBD is now a billion-dollar industry in the United States alone, with a 30ml bottle being sold for anything up to $75.

Where there is demand, there will always be supply and while the top names in CBD export are the usual suspects (China accounts for $912 million worth...