Coca Leaf, Extract, Cocaine & Safe Supply: Grasping Potentials With Sector Incubator's President Ronan Levy

Serious research is picking up on the potential mental health benefits of coca plant. Despite its historical stigma related to its alkaloid cocaine, which has kept it a Schedule I in Canada and Schedule II in the U.S. the coca leaf is seeing a research renaissance.
For a better understanding of the scenario for the coca plant, Benzinga spoke with Ronan Levy, advisor-turned-president of Safe Supply Streaming Co.
Democratized Access Vs. Illicit Market Supply
Safe Supply, now trading on the Canada and Frankfurt Stock Exchanges, invests in and incubates companies working on the legal and regulated drugs supply for a “responsible end” to the War on Drugs.
Levy is a long-time expert in the cannabis and psychedelics capital markets and a lawyer in Ontario. He co-founded Canadian Cannabis Clinics and Aurora (NASDAQ: ACB)-acquired CanvasRx, among others.
With jurisdictions across the globe moving toward decriminalizing, regulating and legalizing drugs, Safe Supply invests in the infrastructure needed to support the transition: facilities for analyzing, manufacturing and distributing psychoactive substances, research and innovation for harnessing their potential and minimizing harm and clinics for safe and responsible access and treatment.
The company is targeting “everywhere,” says Levy, as its fundamental philosophy and thesis is that the War on Drugs has been a failed global policy. “People from all around the world believe that we need a new trajectory in terms of how we think about drugs and drug use and addiction and dependence.”
Safe Supply’s first investments have been in analytical testing labs for government-backed safe programs like the one in British Columbia, where there are safe consumption and safe needle sites. A safe swap program for street drugs like cocaine is expected as well. Levy told Benzinga that they would test on-site for potential fentanyl or xylazine lacing and, if positive, “would actually swap it out” with a safe drug supply.
A Helpful Precedent
Levy says the renewed interest in the coca leaf is similar to what happened with hemp 15 years ago. While interest in hemp and CBD created the landscape for “real conversations” about cannabis, the same happened with people working with the coca plant.
“Even if it’s not the cocaine or the alkaloids that create the drug, their work in many ways created the framework so we can have real conversations about the coca plant and its potential utility,” he said.
Although the situation is still “very avant-garde,” there will likely be a learning curve on the topic. Still, he insists, there are lots of potential applications.
“When you look at the coca plant and the alkaloids and its other ingredients, just like with psilocybin, there’s a lot of opportunity for new products and medicines. And the more work we do, the more people working in the space, the more we’re going to get toward building a different policy, and a strong, diversified industry, around ending the War on Drugs. So even though on some levels it might be competitive, I actually think most entrants in this space are complementary and really will serve a collective purpose we’ll all benefit from.”
Next Up, Part 2 - Coca Leaf Ventures: Mapping Pharma & Nutraceuticals Future, Value Chain, And A Diversified Portfolio Opp
Photo: Benzinga edit with photo by Raimundo79 and Blue Planet Studio on Shutterstock.