Village Farms International Applauds Historic Move Toward U.S. Marijuana Rescheduling

VANCOUVER, British Columbia and ORLANDO, Fla., May 17, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Village Farms International, Inc. (“Village Farms”) (NASDAQ: VFF) applauds the U.S. Department of Justice’s historic decision to pursue federal rescheduling of marijuana for medical purposes to Schedule III from Schedule I under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) (the “Rescheduling Proposal”). The Rescheduling Proposal starts a 60-day period for public comment.

“We are encouraged by this continued regulatory progress and are actively evaluating multiple parallel strategies that may enable Village Farms to enter the legal U.S. marijuana market. All options are expected to leverage our unmatched cannabis success in Canada, using our advantage as one of the largest and highest quality greenhouse cannabis operations in the world. We will continue to monitor regulatory and other developments that may result from the proposed rescheduling and look forward to determining the right path forward for the Company and our shareholders to fully capitalize on the U.S. marijuana opportunity,” said Michael DeGiglio, President and Chief Executive Officer, Village Farms International.

About Village Farms International

Village Farms leverages decades of experience as a large-scale, Controlled Environment Agriculture-based, vertically integrated supplier for high-value, high-growth plant-based Consumer Packaged Goods opportunities, with a strong foundation as a leading fresh produce supplier to grocery and large-format retailers throughout the U.S. and Canada, and new high-growth opportunities in the cannabis and CBD categories in North America, the Netherlands and selected markets internationally.

The Company's wholly-owned Canadian subsidiary, Pure Sunfarms, is one of the single largest cannabis operations in the world, the lowest-cost greenhouse producer and one of Canada’s best-selling brands. The Company also owns 70% of Québec-based, Rose LifeScience, a leading third-party cannabis products commercialization expert in the Province of Québec. Village Farms ranks as the #2 producer nationally in Canada.

In the U.S., wholly-owned Balanced Health Botanicals is one of the leading CBD brands and e-commerce platforms in the country. Subject to compliance with all applicable US federal and state laws and stock exchange rules, Village Farms plans to enter the US high-THC cannabis market via multiple strategies, leveraging one of the largest greenhouse operations in the country (more than 5.5 million square feet in West Texas), as well as the operational and product expertise gained through Pure Sunfarms' cannabis success in Canada.