Kaya Holdings to Seek Licenses for First Ever State Legal Psilocybin Manufacturing and Facilitation Service Centers in Oregon
Kaya Holdings, Inc. (KAYS) announced plans to obtain licenses for psilocybin manufacturing and facilitation service centers in Oregon, anticipating strong market demand as the global psychedelic therapeutics sector could reach $8-10 billion by 2028. The Oregon Health Authority is expected to start issuing licenses in January 2023. The company, first to operate cannabis licenses across all categories in the U.S., sees this move as a natural extension of its operations. Psilocybin shows promise in treating mental disorders, with market estimates projecting significant growth.
- Initiating psilocybin manufacturing licenses could tap into a growing market projected to reach $8-10 billion by 2028.
- KAYS has significant experience with Oregon regulations from its cannabis operations, which may facilitate compliance and operational success.
- The psilocybin opportunity aligns with KAYS's existing mission and operational infrastructure, allowing rapid market response.
- The business heavily relies on potential regulatory approvals, which could introduce risks if licenses are delayed or denied.
- Venture Capitalist warnings indicate high failure rates in the psychedelic sector, suggesting potential financial risks.
Global Psychedelic Therapeutics Market Expected to Reach
FT. LAUDERDALE, FL / ACCESSWIRE / August 3, 2022 / Kaya Holdings, Inc., ("KAYS" or the "Company") (OTCQB:KAYS), the first U.S. publicly traded company to hold and operate cannabis licenses in all "touch the plant" categories, announced today that it has initiated the process to seek the requisite licenses for psilocybin manufacturing and facilitation service centers in Oregon.
Wallstreet waits as countdown begins in Oregon for first ever, state licensed
Psilocybin Manufacturing and Facilitation Service Centers in US
as part of forecast
In November 2020 Oregon became the first state in the United States to legalize and license the supervised use of psychedelic therapeutics for treatment of a range of physical and mental health issues. The Oregon Health Authority ("OHA") is expected to begin issuing licenses in January 2023. The OHA also launched Oregon's medical cannabis program in 2014, giving KAYS critical experience in comprehending and complying with OHA mandates.
"The psilocybin opportunity is a logical extension for Kaya Holdings," commented Craig Frank, KAYS CEO. "The purpose, customer, regulations, and operations, as well as our familiarity with Oregon regulators, are synergistic with our current mission, and can be leveraged within our current operational infrastructure. We anticipate being able to respond to market demand rapidly, upon licensing."
The Science
Psilocybin, a naturally occurring compound found in "magic mushrooms," is one of an emerging class of psychedelic medicines that contain potent psychoactive chemicals that can serve to affect human perception, emotions, and other cognitive functions. Psychedelic medicines have been found to have ground-breaking potential in treating a range physical and mental disorders including anxiety and panic disorder, resistant depression, opiate addiction, adult attention deficit hyperactivity disorder ("ADHD"), opioid addiction, post-traumatic stress disorder ("PTSD"), and acute and chronic pain.
A 2020 study in the Journal of the American Medical Association Psychiatry found that
The Numbers
The emerging use of psychedelic medicine to treat physical and mental disorders. Insight Ace Analytic, an industry research firm, reports that the global psychedelic therapeutics market was valued at US
As recently reported in the Wall Street Journal, Venture Capitalist Brom Rector of Empath Ventures sees Psychedelics as "a traditional biotech play, with a high probability of failure but a potential upside of 10, 20, maybe 50 times." Additionally, he sees many of the infrastructure companies for the industry as having a lot higher probability of becoming cash flow positive.
While Oregon is currently the only State that has legalized Psilocybin for medical use with a regulatory framework in place to issue licenses for their manufacture and sale, Denver Colorado, Santa Cruz and Oakland, California, Ann Arbor, Michigan, Washington D.C., and Seattle, Washington have all decriminalized small quantities. Other activity in the U.S. include:
- The Connecticut legislature has begun the process toward legalizing Psilocybin centers for the treatment of veterans. Many veterans' groups are advocating making psychedelic treatments available for veterans, particularly those with PTSD.
- Texas, Utah, Maryland, and Washington State have set up task forces to study the medical use of psilocybin and have funded research to explore the effects of psilocybin on certain mental health conditions.
- Colorado and California have ballots initiatives pending that would legalize psilocybin.
- The New Jersey senate is considering a bill that would legalize psilocybin to treat certain disorders.
Internationally:
- The Canadian government has been sued by an advocate group to force the legalization of psilocybin and other psychedelics.
- Possession of psilocybin is legal in Austria, British Virgin Islands, Spain, and Portugal.
- Psilocybin is legal to possess, sell, transport, and cultivate in Bahamas, Jamaica, Brazil, Nepal, Netherlands (only as a truffle), and Samoa.
KAYS SHAREHOLDERS AND OTHER INTERESTED PARTIES- PLEASE UPDATE YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION
We routinely receive calls and emails from shareholders asking us questions about KAYS, so we are asking all KAYS shareholders to email us and confirm their contact info. Please email info@kayaholdings.com with "KAYS shareholder update" in the subject line and include your name, address, phone number and number of shares you own so that we may make sure you receive all updates and can respond to any shareholder inquiries.
About Kaya Holdings, Inc. (www.kayaholdings.com)
Kaya Holdings, Inc. (OTCQB:KAYS) is an industry veteran, touch-the-plant, vertically integrated legal cannabis company operating a number of majority-owned subsidiaries that retail, cultivate, produce and distribute premium medical and recreational cannabis products, including flower, concentrates, oils and extracts, cannabis-infused foods and beverages, topicals and cannaceuticals. KAYS is a fully reporting, US-based publicly traded company, listed for trading on the OTCQB Tier of the over-the-counter market under the symbol OTCQB:KAYS.
Summary of Operations
KAYS corporate structure includes the following three majority-owned subsidiaries, each responding to various demands and opportunities in the cannabis industry:
Marijuana Holdings Americas, Inc. owns the Kaya Shack™ brand of licensed medical and recreational marijuana stores (www.kayashack.com) and the Kaya Farms™ brand of cannabis production and processing operations that operate in the United States.
Kaya Brands USA, Inc. owns a wide range of proprietary brands of cannabis extracts, oils, pre-rolls, topicals, food and beverages, cannaceuticals and related accessories.
Kaya Brands International, Inc., was founded to serve as the vehicle for the Company's non-U.S. operations including retail franchising in Canada and cultivation activities in Greece and Israel.
Marijuana Holdings Americas, Inc.- U.S. Cannabis Operations
Kaya Shack™ Retail Cannabis Stores
In 2014, KAYS became the first United States publicly traded company to own and operate a Medical Marijuana Dispensary. KAYS presently operates two Kaya Shack™ OLCC licensed marijuana retail stores to service the legal medical and recreational marijuana market in Oregon.
Kaya Farms™
Lebanon, Oregon Farm & Greenhouse Facility: KAYS owns a 26-acre parcel in Lebanon, Linn County, Oregon. KAYS has received Linn County Zoning approvals and is awaiting final OLCC inspection and license approval.
Kaya Brands USA, Inc.- Brand and Product Development
The Company maintains a genetics library of over 150 strains of cannabis and owns a number of proprietary brands in traditional and innovative cannabis categories including Kaya Buddies™ pre-rolls, Really Happy Glass™ cannabis accessories, and Kaya Gear™, company-related and cannabis-centric fashion. These brands are currently available at Kaya Shack™ stores. Brands the Company plans to introduce in 2022 include Pakalolo Juice Company™, Tony Giggles Pleasure Foods™, Wooz Chews™, Syzygy Extracts™, Sesh Sticks™, Soothe Topicals™, and Cannamo Pet Treats™, Urban Shaman™ and Aglaea Pharma™.
Kaya Brands International, Inc.- Foreign Cannabis Operations
After over six years of conducting "touch the plant" U.S. cannabis operations inside the strict regulatory confines of a public company, KAYS has formed a subsidiary, Kaya Brands International, Inc. ("KBI") to leverage its experience and expand into worldwide cannabis markets. KBI's current operations and initiatives include:
Kaya Kannabis- Kaya Farms™ Greece S.A. ("Kaya Farms Greece," a Greek Corporation) is a majority owned subsidiary of KBI. Kaya Farms Greece currently has two medical cannabis cultivation and processing projects in Greece- "Greekkannabis" in Thebes and "Greek Kaya" in Epidaurus.
Greekkannabis has a development license from the Greek authorities and a purchase option on 15 acres in Thebes, Greece. The farm has large-scale cultivation capacities and the company expects to develop the site once legal cannabis demand warrants an increase in capacity.
Greek Kaya is situated on 2.8 acres of land in Epidaurus, Greece. The project recently received its development license from the Greek Authorities and is in process of securing a purchase agreement to acquire the property. The Epidaurus Project will include 25,000 square feet of indoor cannabis cultivation, a 15,000 square foot EU-GMP extraction and cultivation facility, and a 10,000 square foot EU-GMP packing facility, housed in two top-condition connected structures totaling more than 50,000 square feet of under-air space. There is ample room for expansion with room to construct an additional 15,000 square feet on site.
Kaya Farms™ Israel- Kaya Shalvah LTD ("Kaya Farms Israel," an Israeli Corporation) is a majority owned subsidiary of KBI. Kaya Farms Israel has been awarded its cannabis cultivation development license from the Office of Medical Cannabis at the Israeli Ministry of Health ("YAKAR"). The Company is currently evaluating a number of opportunities in Israel and expects to be announcing its updated plans by at the coming Shareholder Meeting update targeted for July 27, 2022.
Important Disclosure
KAYS is planning execution of its stated business objectives in accordance with current understanding of state and local laws and federal enforcement policies and priorities as it relates to marijuana. Potential investors and shareholders are cautioned that KAYS and MJAI will obtain advice of counsel prior to actualizing any portion of their business plan (including but not limited to license applications for the cultivation, distribution or sale of marijuana and psilocybin products, engaging in said activities or acquiring existing cannabis and/or psilocybin production/sales operations). Advice of counsel with regard to specific activities of KAYS, federal, state or local legal action or changes in federal government policy and/or state and local laws may adversely affect business operations and shareholder value.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes statements that may constitute "forward-looking" statements, usually containing the words "believe," "estimate," "project," "expect" or similar statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements inherently involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. Factors that would cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, acceptance of the Company's current and future products and services in the marketplace, the ability of the Company to develop effective new products and receive regulatory approvals of such products, competitive factors, dependence upon third-party vendors, and other risks detailed in the Company's periodic report filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. By making these forward-looking statements, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these statements for revisions or changes after the date of this release.
For more information contact Investor Relations: info@kayaholdings.com
SOURCE: Kaya Holdings
View source version on accesswire.com:
https://www.accesswire.com/710649/Kaya-Holdings-to-Seek-Licenses-for-First-Ever-State-Legal-Psilocybin-Manufacturing-and-Facilitation-Service-Centers-in-Oregon
FAQ
What are Kaya Holdings' plans regarding psilocybin licensing in Oregon?
What is the projected market size for psychedelic therapeutics by 2028?
When will Oregon start issuing psilocybin licenses?
How does psilocybin relate to mental health treatments?
What is the stock symbol for Kaya Holdings?
