Emerald Health Therapeutics Announces Pure Sunfarms’ Selection to Supply Ontario Cannabis Store

Pure Sunfarms Ontario supply agreement adds to Emerald’s existing supply agreement with the Ontario Cannabis Store

VICTORIA, British Columbia, Feb. 08, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Emerald Health Therapeutics, Inc. ("Emerald" or the “Company”) (TSXV:EMH; OTCQX:EMHTF) today announced its cannabis joint venture, Pure Sunfarms Corp. (“Pure Sunfarms”), has through a competitive process been selected by and entered into a supply agreement with the Ontario Cannabis Retail Corporation, operating as the Ontario Cannabis Store (“OCS”), to supply the OCS with Pure Sunfarms-branded cannabis products for the non-medical market in the Province of Ontario.

“Pure Sunfarms’ supply agreement with the OCS – our first with a provincial government distributor – is a tremendous step forward for our organization, putting our branded quality products on the OCS website and soon retailers’ store shelves, and into the hands of our consumers,” said Mandesh Dosanjh, President and Chief Executive Officer, Pure Sunfarms. “The confidence of the OCS in Pure Sunfarms’ ability to reliably supply safe, consistent quality products is a testament to the hard work of the entire Pure Sunfarms team, which has been relentless in advancing our organization to this stage. We are thrilled to be working with the OCS in Canada’s most populated province and look forward to finalizing additional supplier agreements for other provinces and growing the Pure Sunfarms brand nationally.”

“Pure Sunfarms’ progress in building out an eminent cannabis growing facility, which provides a natural progression into retail sales and product development for the growing and evolving cannabis marketplace, as well as its accomplishment in winning its first provincial government supply agreement is a great validation of the broader business strategy. I applaud CEO Mandesh Dosanjh and the Pure Sunfarms team,” said Dr. Avtar Dhillon, Executive Chairman and President of Emerald. “With cannabis supply we have secured from Pure Sunfarms, our Verdélite operation, and other sources, Emerald has been supplying British Columbia and Newfoundland/Labrador under existing supply agreements and expects to imminently ship to Ontario under the supply agreement it announced last fall. The Pure Sunfarms operation is poised for significant value generation and is a vital part of Emerald’s portfolio.”

With this Ontario supply agreement in place, Pure Sunfarms can commence shipments to the OCS upon receipt of its packaging and processing licenses from Health Canada, which it continues to expect in the near term, subject to Health Canada’s own timelines.

Pure Sunfarms has been and continues to pursue additional supply agreements with other provincial government distributors and private retailers as it continues to sell directly to other Licensed Producers to capitalize on favorable spot market pricing amidst the continuing cannabis supply shortage across Canada.

Pure Sunfarms recently completed conversion of all of the growing area – more than 1 million square feet – at its 1.1 million square foot greenhouse in Delta, British Columbia, making it one of the largest single cannabis growing facilities in the world. The first three quadrants of this facility are licensed for cultivation, with the fourth quadrant currently under Health Canada licensing review. Pure Sunfarms expects to be in production in all four quadrants of this facility in the first quarter of 2019.

About Emerald Health Therapeutics, Inc.

Emerald Health Therapeutics, Inc. is a Canadian licensed producer of cannabis. Its 50%-owned Pure Sunfarms joint venture in BC is completing the conversion of its 1.1 million square foot (25 acre) greenhouse for cannabis cultivation in the Lower Mainland and its Verdélite operation in Québec is completing the build out of its 75,000 square feet indoor cultivation facility. Commercial production is expanding in both facilities. Emerald secured over 500 acres of hemp harvest in 2018 and has contracted for approximately 1000 acres in 2019 to 2022, with the objective of extracting low-cost cannabidiol (CBD). Emerald’s team is highly experienced in life sciences, product development, large-scale agri-business, and marketing, and is focused on developing proprietary, value-added cannabis products for medical and adult-use customers. Emerald is part of the Emerald Health group, which represents a broad array of companies focused on developing pharmaceutical, botanical, and nutraceutical products developed to provide wellness and medical benefits by interacting with the human body’s endocannabinoid system.