Kaya
Holdings to Seek Licenses for First Ever State Legal Psilocybin
Manufacturing and Facilitation Service Centers in
Oregon
Global
Psychedelic Therapeutics Market Expected to Reach $8-10 Billion by
2028.
FT.
LAUDERDALE, FL -- August 4, 2022 -- InvestorsHub NewsWire
-- 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 $8-10,000,000,000 Global Psychedelics Therapeutics
Market.
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
71% of the patients with severe, previously treatment-resistant
depression, showed "clinically significant improvement" that lasted
at least four weeks and with "low potential" for addiction.
Speaking on the study one of the study's co-authors, Alan Davis, a
neuroscience researcher at Ohio State University and adjunct
professor at the Johns Hopkins Center for Psychedelic and
Consciousness Research stated, "I would say at this stage the
research is showing that in safe settings, this provides relief
from debilitating mental health problems for some
people."
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$ 3.61
billion in 2021, and estimates the market will reach US$ 8.31
billion by 2028, with a CAGR of 13.2% during the forecast period of
2022-2028. Other market estimates include the research firm
Research & Markets' estimate that the psychedelic drugs market
will reach US$ 10.75 billion by 2027.
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