Welcome to the Cannabis Countdown, the Legal Marijuana Industry’s Number One Curated Weekly News Recap.
In This Week’s Edition, We Recap and Countdown the Top 10 Cannabis and Psychedelics Industry News Stories for the Week of May 10th – 16th, 2021.
Without further ado, let’s get started.
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10. Psychedelics Advocates And Indigenous Groups Split on Decriminalizing Peyote Cactus
As the Psychedelics Reform Movement Continues to Spread Across the U.S., a Conflict Has Developed Between Some Advocates and Indigenous Groups Over Whether to Include the Hallucinogenic Cacti Peyote in Decriminalization Proposals
While part of the debate concerns the deeply entrenched, religious history that native communities have with the psychedelic, the main issue that both sides agree needs to be resolved is the rapid decline of the cacti due to overharvesting. Peyote plants take 7-12 years to mature, making the species especially vulnerable to supply issues amid growing demand.
9. DEA Close to Allowing Companies to Grow Cannabis for Scientific Research
The U.S. DEA Late Last Week Signalled it Would Award the Licenses Soon By Issuing a “Memorandum of Agreement” to “a Number” of Organizations That Applied for the Opportunity
After years of delay under the Trump administration, the federal government is preparing to award the first new licenses for cultivating cannabis for scientific research, giving U.S. marijuana operators a crack at entering a business that has been dominated by the University of Mississippi for more than 50 years.
READ FULL DEA CANNABIS ARTICLE
Deepak Chopra Announced a New Partnership Tuesday With MindMed, a Clinical-Stage Psychedelic Medicine Biotech Company
“I am partnering with MindMed MMED MNMD MMQ for the public education and the public awareness of the research on psychedelics,” Chopra said. “I don’t believe psychedelics are a panacea, but I think they have a big role…with PTSD, in mental distress depression, suicide prevention and much, much more.” A phase 3 clinical trial revealed that MDMA, popularly known as ecstasy, combined with therapy helped people with severe post-traumatic stress disorder.
READ FULL DEEPAK CHOPRA ARTICLE
7. California Governor Proposes $100 Million Grant to Ease Marijuana Licensing Logjam
To Give Marijuana Growers, Retailers and Other Companies Breathing Room, Gov. Newsom Also Plans to Introduce a Trailer Bill to Allow Regulators to Issue Provisional Cannabis Business Permits for an Added Six Months, Until June 30, 2022
California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Friday his new state budget proposal – called the California Comeback Plan – will include $100 million to alleviate a bureaucratic logjam that has left thousands of marijuana companies with so-called “provisional” business licenses in danger of shuttering at least temporarily.
READ FULL CALIFORNIA CANNABIS ARTICLE
The Cannabis Industry is Faced With Two Main Objectives: Finding the Right Product to Competitively Grow and Then Finding the Right Place to Actually Set Up Operations
Sale-leaseback options are a financing tool cannabis companies are increasingly using in their pursuit of non-traditional financing. These transactions are becoming a welcome solution for cannabis operators who don’t want to turn to equity financing to continue to fund their operations.
READ FULL SALES-LEASEBACK ARTICLE
Anecdotal Reports Have Circulated for Years That Psilocybin Lessens Migraine Symptoms
Scientists have started to investigate whether psilocybin, the primary substance responsible for the psychedelic effects of “magic” mushrooms, could be helpful to those who suffer from migraine headaches. Their new findings, published in Neurotherapeutics, provide preliminary evidence that the drug could provide long-lasting therapeutic benefits to migraine sufferers.
4. Why Hexo is Buying 48North Cannabis for CA$50 Million: Q&A With CEO St. Louis
The Planned Acquisition Comes on the Heels of Hexo’s Agreement in February to Buy Another Struggling Rival, Zenabis Global, for CA$235 Million in Stock. That Deal is Expected to Close June 1
HEXO Corp. HEXO HEXO (FRA: 74H) is buying competitor 48North NRTH NCNNF in an all-stock deal worth approximately 50 million Canadian dollars ($41 million), the companies said Monday morning, continuing the Ottawa, Ontario-headquartered company’s recent acquisition spree.
READ FULL HEXO 48NORTH ARTICLE
3. Noah Feldman: Psychedelic Drugs Will Follow Pot’s Path to Legalization
A Striking New Study Published in Nature Medicine Argues That MDMA-Assisted Psychotherapy Represents “a Potential Breakthrough Treatment” for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Other studies are in the works considering the potential therapeutic applications of psilocybin (the active ingredient in magic mushrooms), LSD and cannabinoids. These follow well-received books on different forms of psychedelic use by such mainstream figures as food writer Michael Pollan, novelist Ayelet Waldman and columnist Ezra Klein. But one question deserves to be answered first: Will the legalization effort succeed? I think the answer is yes.
READ FULL PSYCHEDELICS LEGALIZATION ARTICLE
2. Blockbuster Trulieve-Harvest Deal Could Revive Cannabis Megamergers
Big Mergers and Acquisitions Generally Have Been on Hiatus for the Past Year or So Amid the Coronavirus Pandemic, Falling Cannabis Stock Prices and Close Antitrust Scrutiny From the U.S. DOJ During the Trump Administration
After several months of smaller, more focused transactions, Florida-based Trulieve’s TRUL TCNNF $2.1 billion deal to acquire Harvest Health HARV HRVSF could mark a resurgence in cannabis megamergers, industry experts say.
READ FULL TRULIEVE HARVEST ARTICLE
1. FDA Clears Researchers to Study MDMA Use By Therapists Being Trained in Psychedelic Medicine
The FDA Has Already Authorized Clinical Trials Into the Therapeutic Potential of MDMA for Patients With PTSD, But Now it’s Given the Green Light to a Psychedelics Research Institute to Expand its Studies By Administering the Substance to Certain Therapists
Volunteer therapists who are being trained to treat people with PTSD will be able to participate in the Phase 1 trials to gain personal experience with the treatment option. This is a complementary research project that comes as the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) is in the process of conducting Phase 3 trials involving people with the disorder.
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