Nextleaf Solutions Ltd. (CSE: OILS) (OTCQB: OILFF) ("Nextleaf", "OILS", or the "Company"), a federally regulated cannabis oil producer that owns one of the largest portfolios of U.S. patents for the extraction and distillation of cannabinoids, is pleased to announce that the United States Patent and Trademark Office has granted the Company a patent pertaining to a novel process for acetylating Cannabigerol ("CBG"), and subsequent refinement of CBG-O-Acetate.

Acetylation is an organic esterification reaction, which often utilizes acetic acid. Examples of acetylated pharmaceuticals include Aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid) and diacetylmorphine. The Company was previously granted U.S. and Canadian patents for the acetylation of both CBD and THC, and subsequent refinement of CBD-O-Acetate and THC-O-Acetate. THC-O-Acetate acts as a metabolic prodrug for THC itself, and chemically works the same way that diacetylmorphine does as a metabolic prodrug for morphine.

The Company's latest U.S. patent describes its proprietary production process of modifying CBG found in cannabis distillate into a prodrug, referred to as CBG-O-Acetate. As CBG-O-Acetate is metabolized in the body, the acetate group is removed, allowing the CBG to interact with the cannabinoid receptors.

"CBG is often referred to as the mother cannabinoid as so many other cannabinoids can be derived from its acidic form," said patent author and Nextleaf Solutions Chief Technology Officer Ryan Ko. "This issuance provides further validation for our specialty molecules development roadmap."

The Company believes the CBG-derived prodrug produced under its patented process may hold significant potential as a therapeutic product based on research that CBG may be effective in the treatment of inflammation, pain, and nausea. Peer-reviewed research also suggests that CBG in higher doses may be beneficial in treating conditions such as Crohn's disease¹ and cancer².

Nextleaf owns 16 issued U.S. patents and over 80 issued patents globally for the extraction, purification, and delivery of cannabinoids - representing the third largest patent portfolio amongst all cannabis companies after Canopy Growth and GW Pharma.

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"We are thrilled to enhance our U.S. patent portfolio with this novel production process, that along with our Health Canada licenses, allows Nextleaf to develop and produce truly differentiated cannabinoid-based products through our Specialty Molecules Division," said Nextleaf Solutions co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Paul Pedersen. "To the best of our knowledge, Nextleaf is the first company in the world - publicly traded or private - to be issued patents for the production of CBG-O-Acetate, a specialty molecule not legally available anywhere in the world."

The purpose of the Specialty Molecules Division is to leverage Nextleaf's existing intellectual property ("IP") and delivery technology to develop IP-protected therapeutic products from novel molecules that may provide a therapeutic alternative to opioid-based medications.

About Nextleaf®

Nextleaf is a federally regulated producer of cannabis oil that owns one of the largest portfolios of U.S. patents for the extraction and distillation of cannabinoids. Nextleaf supplies cannabis oils to its wholesale customers and distributes consumer products under its award-winning prohibition-era brand, Glacial Gold™. Nextleaf's proprietary closed-loop automated extraction plant in Metro Vancouver has a design capacity to process 600 kilos of dried cannabis into oil per day. Nextleaf is developing delivery technology through its Health Canada Research Licence with sensory evaluation of cannabis via human testing. The Company owns 16 U.S. patents and has been issued over 80 patents globally.

Nextleaf Solutions trades as OILS on the Canadian Securities Exchange, OILFF on the OTCQB Market in the United States, and L0MA on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.

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For more information please contact:
Jason McBride, Corporate Development
604-283-2301 (ext. 219)
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On behalf of the Board of Directors of the Company,
Paul Pedersen, CEO

Certain statements contained in this press release constitute "forward-looking statements". All statements other than statements of historical fact contained in this press release, including, without limitation, those regarding the Company's ability to capitalize on its IP portfolio, the Company's strategy, plans, objectives, goals and targets, and any statements preceded by, followed by or that include the words "believe", "expect", "aim", "intend", "plan", "continue", "will", "may", "would", "anticipate", "estimate", "forecast", "predict", "project", "seek", "should" or similar expressions or the negative thereof, are forward-looking statements. These statements are not historical facts but instead represent only the Company's expectations, estimates and projections regarding future events. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve assumptions, risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual results may differ materially from what is expressed, implied or forecasted in such forward-looking statements. Additional factors that could cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially include, but are not limited to the risk factors discussed in the Company's MD&A for the most recent fiscal period. Management provides forward-looking statements because it believes they provide useful information to investors when considering their investment objectives and cautions investors not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Consequently, all of the forward-looking statements made in this press release are qualified by these cautionary statements and other cautionary statements or factors contained herein, and there can be no assurance that the actual results or developments will be realized or, even if substantially realized, that they will have the expected consequences to, or effects on, the Company. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release and the Company assumes no obligation to update or revise them to reflect subsequent information, events or circumstances or otherwise, except as required by law. The CSE has not reviewed or approved the contents of this press release.

¹ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23415610/
² https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33562819/