Mr. Michael Forbes reports

ADASTRA LABS RECEIVES HEALTH CANADA APPROVAL FOR THE AMENDMENT TO INCLUDE COCAINE UNDER ITS CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES DEALER'S LICENSE

Adastra Holdings Ltd.'s Adastra Labs Inc. received approval from Health Canada on Feb. 17, 2023, for its amendment to include cocaine as a substance that the company can legally possess, produce, sell and distribute.

The company received its controlled drug and substances dealer licence on Aug. 24, 2022. The dealer licence also allows Adastra to possess, produce, sell and distribute up to 1,000 grams of psilocybin and psilocin.

The amended licence allows Adastra to interact with up to 250 grams of cocaine and to import coca leaves to manufacture and synthesize the substance.

"Harm reduction is a critically important and mainstream topic, and we are staying at the forefront of drug regulations across the board," said Michael Forbes, chief executive officer of Adastra. "We pro-actively pursued the amendment to our dealer's licence to include cocaine back in December, 2022. We will evaluate how the commercialization of this substance fits in with our business model at Adastra in an effort to position ourselves to support the demand for a safe supply of cocaine."

Mr. Forbes has extensive experience working in the front lines of addiction medicine as a pharmacist in his multiple-methadone pharmacies. He also has a specialty in compounding pharmacy and formulation and is the founder of Ageless Living longevity-based interdisciplinary clinics. Mr. Forbes piloted a needle exchange program at the direction of the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention in 2010.

In British Columbia, there is a three-year exemption under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA) for adults 18 years and older to possess up to 2.5 grams of opioids, cocaine, methamphetamine, MDMA or some combination thereof between Jan. 31, 2023, and Jan. 31, 2026.

About Adastra Holdings Ltd.

Adastra is a leading manufacturer and supplier of innovative ethnobotanical and cannabis science products designed for the adult-use medical markets and forward-looking therapeutic applications. Adastra is recognized as a high-capacity processor and co-manufacturer throughout Canada. Adastra's Phyto Extractions brand is known for its cannabis concentrate products, available on shelves at over 1,400 adult-use retailers across Canada. The company also operates Adastra Labs, a 13,500-square-foot, agricultural-scale Health Canada licensed facility located in Langley, B.C., focused on extraction, distillation and manufacturing of cannabis-derived products. Adastra has successfully taken steps in becoming a licensed cultivator, tester, extractor and seller of controlled substances, including psilocybin and psilocin, under its controlled substances dealer licence. Adastra is poised to be a drug formulation and development leader in these emerging sectors. Adastra operates PerceiveMD, a multidisciplinary manufacturer for medical cannabis and psychedelic therapies, working alongside practitioners and health care professionals within the regulated environment to help create efficacious remedies that address the actual needs of patients.

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