Green Thumb Industries Inc. (GTI) Announces Second California Retail License Award Win By Integral Associates; Stores Slated for Pasadena and West Hollywood

CHICAGO and VANCOUVER, British Columbia, June 06, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Green Thumb Industries Inc. (GTI) GTII GTBIF today announced that Integral Associates was awarded a retail dispensary and delivery license by the City of Pasadena, making it one of only six new license awardees in Pasadena. Integral Associates placed first out of 122 retail applications.  The Pasadena license was awarded the same day that GTI closed on its acquisition of Integral Associates, which includes the Essence retail stores as well as the award-winning Cannabiotix and Desert Grown Farms cultivation facilities in Nevada.

Rendering of an Essence retail cannabis store slated for Pasadena, California Essence Logo

"We're honored to be awarded a retail license in Pasadena and look forward to becoming an active and involved member of the local community," said GTI President Armen Yemenidjian who founded Integral Associates. "Our focus has always been on providing exceptional customer service and we're excited to bring the Essence experience to new guests in Pasadena."

"We would like to recognize and congratulate the six top-scoring applicants who completed a very comprehensive process," said Pasadena City Manager Steve Mermell. "I was pleased with the high-level of sophistication, experience and expertise demonstrated by the top-scoring applicants and look forward to a positive relationship between future permitted dispensaries and our community."

The Pasadena license will allow the company to continue expanding business operations in Southern California, where it was recently awarded a retail location and full-service consumption lounge in West Hollywood. It also continues a significant period of rapid growth with eight new retail licenses awarded in December for Nevada – five in the Las Vegas area and three in Northern Nevada. The company now has 23 stores open across the country and a retail footprint for a total of 89.

"The first-place win in Pasadena reinforces the shareholder value that Armen and his team bring to GTI," said GTI Founder and CEO Ben Kovler. "We are excited to expand our retail footprint in the West and throughout the country—the momentum is strong."

About Green Thumb Industries:

Green Thumb Industries (GTI), a national cannabis consumer packaged goods company and retailer, is dedicated to providing dignified access to cannabis while giving back to the communities in which they serve. GTI manufactures and distributes a portfolio of branded cannabis products including Rythm, Dogwalkers, The Feel Collection, and Beboe, among others. The company also owns and operates rapidly growing national chains of retail cannabis stores called Rise™ and Essence. Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, GTI has 13 manufacturing facilities, licenses for 89 retail locations and operations across 12 U.S. markets. Established in 2014, GTI employs approximately 1,100 people and serves thousands of patients and customers each year. GTI was named a Best Workplace 2018 by Crain's Chicago Business.  More information is available at GTIgrows.com.

About Integral Associates, LLC:

Integral Associates, LLC, is one of the largest retail and wholesale cannabis operators in the State of Nevada. Founded in 2016, Integral Associates operates Essence Cannabis Dispensary, Desert Grown Farms and Cannabiotix NV. Essence Cannabis Dispensary is the first and only cannabis dispensary on the famed Las Vegas Strip and offers the widest selection of quality cannabis products in Las Vegas. With three open locations across Las Vegas and Henderson, Essence offers legal, safe, and confidential services to a wide consumer base throughout Nevada. Desert Grown Farms and Cannabiotix NV are world-class cultivation and processing facilities totaling 95,000 square feet. Desert Grown Farms has an award-winning genetics library of over 100 strains and Cannabiotix NV has been a recognized High Times Cannabis Cup award winner several times over. Essence, Desert Farms and Cannabiotix NV are owned by Integral Associates, LLC, which was acquired by Green Thumb Industries Inc. in 2019.  For more information, please visit: https://essencevegas.com.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This press release contains statements which may constitute "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including statements regarding the plans, intentions, beliefs and current expectations of GTI with respect to future business activities. Forward-looking information is often identified by the words "may," "would," "could," "should," "will," "intend," "plan," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," or similar expressions and include information regarding the future direction and business objectives of GTI (plans for expansion)  The forward‐looking information in this news release is based upon the expectations, estimates, projections, assumptions and views of future events which management believes to be reasonable in the circumstances and expectations relating to general economic and market conditions. Any forward‐looking information speaks only as of the date on which it is made, and, except as required by law, GTI does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward‐looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. The forward‐looking information in this news release is subject to a variety of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ from those express or implied. When considering these forward‐looking statements, readers should keep in mind the risk factors and other cautionary statements in GTI's public filings with the applicable securities regulatory authorities on SEDAR at www.sedar.com, including the risk factors set out in GTI's annual information form dated July 10, 2018.

No securities regulatory authority has in any way passed upon the merits of the proposed transactions described in this news release or has approved or disapproved of the contents of this news release.

The Canadian Securities Exchange does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Source: Green Thumb Industries

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/ce7040e6-72bf-49ef-b7b2-3437d8c155da