TORONTO, Jan. 4, 2018 /CNW/ - Liberty Health Sciences Inc. (CSE: LHS) (OTCQX: LHSIF) ("Liberty" or the "Company") today provided the following statement in response to the memorandum on marijuana enforcement issued by United States Attorney General Jeff Sessions on January 4, 2018:
"Liberty is a licensed medical cannabis company that strictly adheres to the laws in the U.S. states in which we operate. As a medical cannabis company, we are protected against enforcement by enacted legislation from U.S. Congress in the form of the Rohrabacher-Blumenauer amendment."
"It is our interpretation that the memorandum dated January 4, 2018 issued by U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions is largely in response to the recreational cannabis marketplace in California becoming effective on January 1, 2018. It does not affect the medical cannabis marketplace. The memorandum does nothing other than rescind the Obama-era Cole Memorandum, and it restates the well-established criteria associated with prosecutorial authority and decisions within the U.S. Attorney General's Office. There are presently over 10 bills pending to assist and/or protect the cannabis marketplace, including the Rohrabacher Amendments that protect state licensed medical cannabis operators like Liberty from prosecution so long as their operations are compliant with state law. This protection has existed since 2013, and within the last two years, several federal prosecutors have attempted enforcement actions against state licensed and compliant medical cannabis operators, and those prosecutions were dismissed and/or shut down via injunctions based upon the Rohrabacher amendment."
"We believe that the memorandum is not in tune with the realities of the modern-day U.S. cannabis marketplace, and that the apparent shift in policy ignores the strong bi-partisan support for medical and recreational cannabis within the U.S. Congress and amongst Americans, which is underscored by the strong and swift bi-partisan negative reaction from Congressional leadership to Attorney General Sessions' memorandum. Presently, over 60% of Americans live in a state where cannabis is legal either medically or recreationally, and over 80% of Americans support the legalization of cannabis in one form or another."
"We want to reassure shareholders that we remain committed to producing medical – not recreational – cannabis in the U.S. states where medical cannabis is legal, and we will continue to pursue our existing strategy in the U.S. and supply the growing demand for reliable and affordable medical grade cannabis to improve the quality of people's lives. We continue to actively engage with our well-positioned governmental advisors at the federal level to provide assistance to federal officials on the ongoing U.S. policy making initiatives related to medical cannabis in the U.S. We are committed to ensuring that the interests of our shareholders and patients are protected."
For more information on Liberty please visit www.libertyhealthsciences.com.
About Liberty Health Sciences Inc.
Liberty Health Sciences Inc. ("Liberty") is an investor and operator in the medical cannabis market, capitalizing on new and existing opportunities in U.S. states where medical cannabis is legal. Liberty's stringent investment criteria for expansion maximizes returns to shareholders, while focusing on significant near- and mid-term opportunities. Liberty has an extensive background in highly regulated industries, with expertise in becoming a low-cost producer. Liberty leverages commercial greenhouse knowledge to deliver high-quality, clean and safe pharmaceutical grade cannabis to patients.
CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS: Certain information in this news release constitutes forward-looking statements under applicable securities laws. Any statements that are contained in this news release that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are often identified by terms such as "may", "should", "anticipate", "expect", "believe", "plan", "intend" or the negative of these terms and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to, expectations related to the Company's future expansion and growth strategies, the Company's expectations in respect of the future growth of medical cannabis as a treatment option in Florida and other states, and the Company's expectations regarding future legislative and regulatory developments. Forward-looking statements necessarily involve known and unknown risks, including, without limitation, risks associated with general economic conditions; adverse industry events; marketing costs; loss of markets; future legislative and regulatory developments involving medical marijuana; inability to access sufficient capital from internal and external sources, and/or inability to access sufficient capital on favourable terms; the medical marijuana industry in the United States generally, income tax and regulatory matters; the ability of Liberty to implement its business strategies; competition; crop failure; currency and interest rate fluctuations and other risks.
Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list is not exhaustive. Readers are further cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements as there can be no assurance that the plans, intentions or expectations upon which they are placed will occur. Such information, although considered reasonable by management at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.
SOURCE Liberty Health Sciences Inc.
