Sixth Canada mushroom firm to enter Jamaica after Nasdaq listing
Published:Wednesday | November 15, 2023 | 12:05 AM
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First Person Inc is setting up a psychedelic mushroom company in Jamaica for research and development, with an initial outlay of US$500,000. The funds would come from the Canadian company’s pending initial public offering of shares that’s aimed at...
First Person Inc is setting up a psychedelic mushroom company in Jamaica for research and development, with an initial outlay of US$500,000.
The funds would come from the Canadian company’s pending initial public offering of shares that’s aimed at raising US$10 million to US$12.3 million. The bulk of the funds would go towards amassing and developing mushroom products, the Jamaica build out, paying back marketing expenses footed by the CEO, and general working capital.
First Person, which was formed in 2021, is the sixth Canadian mushroom company to disclose plans to enter the local market. Four are currently operational: New Wave Holdings Limited, Ehave Inc, Field Trip Limited and Silo Wellness. The latter company also acquired the local medical cannabis brand Kaya and assets in September.
The fifth operator and early-mover, Cybin Inc, ceased lab trials and investments in Jamaica last year, saying it found more promising mushroom products elsewhere containing other molecules that appear to have more desirable characteristics than traditional psilocybin – the natural chemical that makes certain mushrooms psychoactive.
First Person Inc will operate in Jamaica through TruMed, a company it acquired in 2022.
The company led by Chairman and CEO Cory Rosenberg, 43, plans to list on the Nasdaq exchange but its preliminary prospectus did not specify a date for the IPO.
Unlike in the United States, psilocybin is not an illegal drug under Jamaica’s drug laws, First Person asserted in its filings.
“Therefore, research involving psychedelic mushrooms is not in contravention of the laws of Jamaica and does not require any permit or authorisation from the regulatory authorities in Jamaica. TruMed intends to cultivate and study psychedelic mushrooms in Jamaica, and we plan to use a portion of the proceeds of this offering to establish TruMed’s operations in Jamaica,” the mushroom company said.
Checks by the Financial Gleaner show that most regulated herbhouses, which are licensed to trade in medical marijuana, also sell mushroom variants in plant form or as infused chocolates.
TruMed, which was formed in April 2019, has no employees or operations in Jamaica presently. First Person booked US$3.9 million in revenue over six months ending June and made a net loss of US$2.1 million. Additionally, its losses since its start up in January 2021 have accumulated to US$10.45 million.