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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has launched a new political action committee to campaign against marijuana legalization and abortion rights initiatives that will appear on the state’s November ballot. At the same time, a newly released campaign finance report shows over $5 million in contributions supporting the cannabis measure have come in over the past two months.

As DeSantis continues his crusade against the marijuana legalization proposal, late last month he started what’s being called the Florida Freedom Fund, aimed at preventing adults from gaining the right to use cannabis. It’s being run by the governor’s chief of staff, James Uthmeier.

A spokesperson for DeSantis told Politico that the PAC “will be championing issues and candidates committed to preserving Floridians’ freedom.” How that stated mission squares with an attempt to restrict adults from accessing marijuana without risking a criminal record and potential jail time is unclear.

According to a Fox News poll released last week, two in three Florida voters support the cannabis initiative—with the issue proving more popular than the governor himself. The survey showed majority support for legalization across the political spectrum, too.

Despite his opposition to the marijuana legalization, DeSantis recently vetoed a bill to ban the sale of intoxicating hemp-derived cannabinoids in his state. The action came amid reporting that the governor planned to block the hemp prohibition legislation in hopes that the industry would return the favor by financially assisting in his effort to defeat the marijuana initiative.

The governor, who predicted voters will reject the marijuana initiative in November, has argued that the state shouldn’t go beyond the existing medical cannabis program and that broader reform would negatively impact the quality of life for Floridians. The Florida Republican Party also formally came out against Amendment 3 last month.

So far, DeSantis’s PAC hasn’t reported raising any money. The Smart & Safe Florida campaign behind the marijuana initiative, however, reported more than $5.2 million in new contributions from April 1 to May 31, with the bulk of that funding coming from the multi-state cannabis company Trulieve. That’s in addition to the $15 million the campaign raised in the first quarter of the year, a haul that included contributions from other cannabis companies such as Verano Holdings, Curaleaf, Ayr Wellness, Green Thumb Industries and Cresco Labs.

The new first quarter report shows that other marijuana firms are coming to the table in support, including Insa, which donated $144,000, Sunburn parent company Green Sentry Holdings, which chipped in $50,000, and Urban-Gro, which gave $25,000.

The report also shows dozens of small-dollar donations, too.

We are so excited for this announcement! Smart & Safe Florida welcomes @urban_gro and @sunburncannabis in advocating for Amendment 3. Join the movement, vote #YesOn3 pic.twitter.com/5VFHvZQmPw

— Smart & Safe Florida (@SmartandSafeFl) June 11, 2024

Trulieve previously contributed about $40 million as advocates worked to collect more than one million signatures to qualify for ballot placement. The company’s CEO, Kim Rivers, said recently that, contrary to the governor’s claims, legalization could actually “improve quality of life” for residents.

She also said that she remains confident DeSantis will respect the will of the people and implement the legalization initiative if voters approve it at the ballot.

Smart & Safe Florida separately announced in March that it was working to form a coalition of veterans to build voter support for the reform, and the campaign has since formally launched that initiative.

The campaign additionally released an ad last week arguing that cannabis currently available on the state’s illicit market is dangerously unregulated.

Economic analysts from the Florida legislature and DeSantis’s office, estimate that the marijuana legalization initiative would generate between $195.6 million and $431.3 million in new sales tax revenue annually if voters enact it. Those figures could increase considerably if lawmakers opted to impose an additional excise tax on cannabis transactions that’s similar to the ones in place in other legalized states.

Here’s what the Smart & Safe Florida marijuana legalization initiative would accomplish:

• Adults 21 and older could purchase and possess up to three ounces of cannabis for personal use. The cap for marijuana concentrates would be five grams.
• Medical cannabis dispensaries could “acquire, cultivate, process, manufacture, sell, and distribute marijuana products and marijuana accessories to adults for personal use.”
• The legislature would be authorized—but not required—to approve additional entities that are not currently licensed cannabis dispensaries.
• The initiative specifies that nothing in the proposal prevents the legislature from “enacting laws that are consistent with this amendment.”
• The amendment further clarifies that nothing about the proposal “changes federal law,” which seems to be an effort to avoid past legal challenges about misleading ballot language.
• There are no provisions for home cultivation, expungement of prior records or social equity.
• The measure would take effect six months following approval by voters.

Here’s the full text of the ballot title and summary:

Despite his opposition to the initiative, DeSantis, a former GOP presidential candidate who dropped out of the race in January, previously accurately predicted that the state’s highest court would ultimately allow the measure on November’s ballot.

Unlike the governor, U.S. Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL) said in April that he does believe Florida voters will approve the legalization initiative.

California Senators Approve Bill To Legalize Marijuana Cafes Where People Could Smoke, Eat Food And Watch Events Such As Concerts

The post DeSantis Launches ‘Florida Freedom Fund’ To Oppose Marijuana Legalization Ballot Initiative, As Campaign Reports Millions In New Donations appeared first on Marijuana Moment.

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Nearly two months after sending out press releases that crowed about the company’s advancements, Numinus Wellness Inc. (OTC: NUMIF) walked back those claims and blamed its public relations firm for the mistake.

Numinus released a statement after the markets closed on Friday, June 7, saying, “The releases were inadvertently disseminated by a public relations firm contracted by the company and represent information that was previously disseminated by the company. The company apologizes for any confusion.”

First error

The first error noted by Numinus related to a partnership between Numinus and Cybin (NYSE American: CYBN) (Cboe CA: CYBN) announced in a press release dated April 17 titled “Numinus and Cybin Embark on a Groundbreaking Journey: Pioneering Phase 3 Trials for Major Depressive Disorder.”

Cybin did indeed engage Cedar Clinical Research to provide clinical research services, and its Murray, Utah, location will be one of 15 U.S. research sites for Cybin’s Phase 3 multinational clinical trial of CYB003. However, the release claimed that Numinus’ Chief Science Officer Dr. Paul Thielking would be the principal investigator. In reality, Thielking is the site principal investigator for the CCR site, not the trial’s principal investigator.

Numinus made the claim again in a May 30 press release, which said, “The Phase 3 trial, set to begin enrollment in mid-2024, will delve deeper into CYB003’s safety and efficacy. Under the leadership of Dr. Paul Thielking, Numinus’s Chief Science Officer and the trial’s Principal Investigator, the study aims to further explore CYB003’s potential to address a critical unmet need in mental health care.”

Numinus clarified that it has no direct or indirect ownership interest in CYB003 and that any CYB003 research is the property of its sponsor, Cybin.

Second Error

Numinus also got ahead of itself by telling investors that it planned to launch a Numinus Network community pilot, which will be made available to its current therapists and other practitioners, alumni of its training program, and former therapists and other practitioners, including those who join the Canadian Centre for Psychedelic Healing when it launches. That press release, dated April 15, was titled “Numinus Wellness Provides Corporate Update.”

Numinus now says that it and CCPH have only agreed in principle to collaborate on the development of training content for the Numinus learning platform. However, Numinus insists that definitive terms of this collaboration will be determined in a subsequent agreement.

The new press release went on to explain that the planned community pilot program and Numinus Network do not provide access to medical infrastructure for the therapeutic administration of ketamine and other psychedelic drugs within Canada’s regulatory framework, which may be through a program such as CCPH’s co-op program.

It also added that there can be no assurance that a subscription-based model of the Numinus Network will be rolled out in Canada or the U.S.

MDMA pivot

In April, Numinus told investors it was going to ease away from the Canadian market and instead focus on the U.S. market and in particular on the drug MDMA. Numinus had high hopes that the FDA would give a positive nod to Lykos MDMA drug; instead, the FDA Advisory panel voted against the drug.

“While the decision of the (Psychopharmacologic Drugs Advisory Committee) was not the preferred outcome for many in the mental health care community, considering the dire need for an effective treatment for the millions impacted by PTSD, we understand the PDAC was acting in the best interests of patient safety and quality care,” Payton Nyquvest, Numinus founder and CEO, said about the decision.

“Based on the positive results from Lykos’ Phase 3 trial, which focused on adult patients, we are optimistic that once the PDAC’s specific concerns are addressed, MDMA-assisted therapy will be made available,” he added.

The post Numinus walks back claims made in press releases appeared first on Green Market Report.

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The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals is set to hear arguments in August in a closely watched case about whether terminally ill patients have the right to use the psychedelic drug psilocybin under federal and state “right-to-try” laws, Law360 reported.

The case, Advanced Integrative Medical Science Institute v. U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, was brought by Dr. Sunil Aggarwal, a Seattle physician who’s seeking to provide psilocybin to his dying cancer patients to treat depression and anxiety.

Aggarwal and his clinic argue that laws aimed at allowing terminal patients to try experimental medications should permit the use of psilocybin in this context. The DEA and Justice Department counter that right-to-try statutes don’t override the federal prohibition on the substance.

Oral arguments in the case are scheduled for the morning of Aug. 19 in San Francisco, the Ninth Circuit announced Sunday.

The current appeal is part of a broader effort by Aggarwal to expand access to psilocybin for end-of-life care. The DEA has repeatedly rejected his proposals, arguing that providing the substance would be inconsistent with public health and safety and that Aggarwal must register as a researcher to obtain it.

Aggarwal sued the DEA in 2022, alleging its decisions were arbitrary and contradicted legal precedent allowing limited therapeutic use of other restricted drugs. The agency has insisted that Aggarwal hasn’t provided sufficient evidence and that it can’t fully assess his waiver request without more specifics.

In a separate case, the Ninth Circuit ordered the DEA to clarify its rationale for keeping psilocybin in Schedule I after rejecting a petition by Aggarwal to reclassify it.

Though currently illegal, psilocybin has received “breakthrough therapy” designation from the FDA twice and is now undergoing late-stage clinical trials. Any ruling by the Ninth Circuit in Aggarwal’s case could mean reverberations for its legal status and availability to patients.

The post Appeals court to hear case on psilocybin use by terminally ill appeared first on Green Market Report.

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$811 million – Value of cannabis capital raises year-to-date

Cannabis capital remains challenging to get, and it’s reflected in the amount of raise activity the industry has seen in the first part of 2024. As of the end of May, cannabis companies had raised $811 million, down 22% from the same period in 2023. But it’s not bleak for every sector. According to Viridian Capital Advisors, the cultivation and retail sector – the largest sector tracked by Viridian – saw its raises up 48% in the same timeframe.

Source: Viridian Capital Advisors

The post Number of the Week: $811 million appeared first on Green Market Report.

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After two years of having to get permission to talk about the inner workings of the New York Office of Cannabis Management, Aaron Ghitelman quit his government post to enter the private world of cannabis public relations.

Now the former spokesman for the agency is he’s speaking up about the inner workings of the OCM after a scathing report from the New York Office of General Services was released last month.

Ghitelman told Green Market Report recently that there were basically no decisions made at the OCM in which Hochul didn’t have a say-so and chalked much of the agency’s ongoing transition to “political games” being played by Hochul to save face in light of the turbulent market rollout.

The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Broad strokes, give me your thoughts on what stakeholders may see change in the wake of the Office of General Services report last month and the departure of Chris Alexander. 

After the really tough year of 2023, New York’s cannabis market has been growing, stores have been opening, product is moving, and it’s growing in a real way, partially thanks to (New York City Mayor) Eric Adams who, the minute he got more authority to shut stores down, actually committed resources to shutting stores down in a real serious way.

The big questions for me are around those who have already put in applications for licenses, and how quickly can the governor’s office can actually implement this – and are they interested in implementing their suggestions in a real way? Because I think a big part of this report wasn’t actually about the function of the state or about the function of the licensing team at the OCM.

The report was more about a political concern of Gov. Hochul wanting to remove Chris Alexander from his position, and kind of creating what she must have felt like was the necessary landscape to allow her to remove him. I think they were looking for corruption, which they didn’t actually find. All they found is the same inefficiency that plagues every other agency that licenses anything in New York State.

At the core, they want to restructure the touch points and make things more transparent to applicants. But a big part of it is bringing on more staff. I am not aware of the changes having already been implemented. I’m not aware of the new hiring happening in earnest.

What I have heard a lot of is exhaustion and frustration from the people who still work within the OCM, where a lot of folks felt that the governor kind of blindsided them.

Not to mention, I think the announcement that the kind of massive change in review, where the November queue of people with locations – which was a lottery and not everybody was guaranteed a license – now everybody in that queue on the retail side has been guaranteed a review, but a parallel guarantee has not occurred for the December applicants. After everybody got their applications in, the rules changed.

I think the governor may have made a few fatal missteps that actually will slow down the process of getting these licenses out instead of speeding them up.

Any thoughts on the transition currently underway from Alexander’s leadership? 

I’m surprised that the governor didn’t have a choice ready when she kind of made the moves to remove Chris (in May). She could have at some point in May nominated her hopeful successor, introduced them, popularized them as a choice and have them approved.

Even if Chris stayed on until September as he initially had planned on doing, the governor still, based on the New York legislative calendar, would’ve had to get somebody confirmed by the end of session in early June.

There’s a lot I’ve seen since she’s become governor that really makes me think Gov. Hochul’s a novice political operator who kind of is more interested in wishful thinking than doing the actual things necessary to make policies or appointments a success.

To me, it gets back to the central point about the report; I don’t actually think the report was about improving systems. There are a lot of ways you can improve systems without this railroaded public-facing report where OCM didn’t have a chance to discuss it or refute things before it went live.

To me, it was very clear this was a political decision where she no longer wanted Chris Alexander in this role.

What do you think we’ll see more of from the OCM and the CCB moving forward?

At the end of the day what the governor is looking for is an agency that doesn’t really shake things up and doesn’t really make noise. If you look at how she’s governed the rest of the state beyond cannabis, it’s very kind of small picture things. Gov. Hochul hasn’t really pushed for big things. She’s a don’t-rock-the-boat type person.

I don’t know if that means kind of greater space for the registered organizations or for MSOs that currently are not in New York state or they’ll be able to enter New York state. But I think the governor kind of leans towards what big business wants from her, what big real estate wants from her. And one of the big issues with how OCM operated was it was very much an antitrust-focused office.

The MRTA created a two-tiered anti-monopolistic market to (does) not allow six or seven operators to form a cartel to decide what pricing costs. That is different than how the governor has approached a lot of other problems. I think her office and her team have a discomfort with antitrust. But if the governor wants to give more room for vertically integrated operators, that would likely be something she would have to run by the legislature, which make it tough.

There are a lot of things that have kind of been started and things that aren’t just the same as we see in other states. What we’re seeing from a lot of corporate America are retreating from the promises of diversity and equity and inclusion people made in 2020 now that it doesn’t feel as pressing or as politically beneficial.

The goal of the New York market was for 50% of licenses to go to individuals from social and economic equity groups, and based on the projections I’ve seen from applications, New York state is well ahead of that 50%. So theoretically the governor could cut back on a lot of the grander equity programs, scale that back, focus more on just getting licenses out, supporting those who already have capital already have lobbyists in their corner and coast on that and still surpassed the 50% social and economic equity goals of the MRTA.

Do you see anything changing in the near term?

I think if the governor’s office was serious about staffing up and did indeed begin a real push to get folks on those teams and have real support for licensing, we may start to see increases an actual speed up and ramp up in, say, two or three months from now. In the near term, we’re probably going to see the same rate of licenses up for approval that we’ve seen in the last couple Cannabis Control Board meetings.

The report criticized OCM for having a startup culture. My read from that is the governor’s office wants people to almost work slower, but I don’t know how you can ask somebody to sacrifice nights and weekends when you just kind of trash their work and remove their boss.

So I think there’s a chance it speeds up. I think there’s a chance it slows down a lot. I think it could really go either way. And I think at the end of the day, if you were frustrated in March, there has been literally nothing changed.

It sounds like you would agree with folks who have said that Alexander was scapegoated by the governor’s office. Would you agree with that?

Entirely. If you read the report, you would not know that we could not make any decision within the OCM without approval from the governor’s office. I was not able to get you a quote without it getting run by both the governor’s comms office and the governor’s legal team.

We were not doing a single thing without their approval, but if you just showed up and read the assessment, you might think all of this was news to the governor, which most certainly was not the case. And Chris was very much scapegoated.

A lot of the assessment is accurate in terms of lack of staff, efficiency of government bodies, and government licensing bodies. But you could have written that exact same report about (the state liquor authority), about building permits, about so many other things that take way longer than they ever ought to take, and way longer than they take in the private sector.

In my view, they went into this assessment looking for corruption, with the assumption that OCM moves with the same level of corruption as the governor’s office.

The post Former New York OCM spokesman critiques agency’s turbulent transition appeared first on Green Market Report.

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