Martha Stewart Blazes Trail with Canopy Growth Partnership

Bestselling author and television personality Martha Stewart has joined forces with Canopy Growth (CGC), a cannabis company, to market cannabidiol (CBD) products, according to a Thursday release from the company. Stewart will join the company as an advisor to assist with "developing and positioning" the company's line of hemp-derived CBD products.

Shares in Canopy Growth, which trades on the NYSE under ticker symbol CGC and theToronto Stock Exchange under the ticker WEED, rose more than 4% on news of the deal.

The partnership announcement comes as the Canadian pot company attempts to broaden the mainstream appeal of its products. Canopy Growth is developing a new line of CBD and other cannabinoid products for both human and pet consumption.

In a release, Stewart said she was excited to "share with [Canopy Growth] the knowledge I have gained after years of experience in the subject of living." The star was "especially looking forward to our first collaboration together, which will offer sensible products for people’s beloved pets.”

A Budding Industry

CBD is a non-psychoactive compound found in cannabis plants. The cannabinoid has surged in popularity, with some touting its ability to treat a wide variety of medical conditions, from depression and chronic pain to sore muscles. The substance is largely legal to purchase and unregulated, though cities such as New York have considered bans on the substance in various forms.

Despite some regulatory challenges, CBD represents an opportunity for significant growth for companies like Canopy Growth, who seek new ways to broaden pot's appeal by courting a new market focused on health and wellness.

Projections by New Frontier Data, a cannabis-focused data provider, show that the U.S. CBD market could triple by 2022.

Canopy Growth is no stranger to headlines. The company was the first cannabis company in North America to be publicly traded. It is also the only cannabis company listed in a major global stock index, the S&P/TSX Composite, which tracks stocks that trade on the Toronto Exchange.