LEEF Brands Comments on Federal Cannabis Rescheduling and Potential to Participate in Nationwide CBD Program
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Dec. 18, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — LEEF Brands, Inc. (CSE: LEEF, OTCQB: LEEEF) (“LEEF” or the “Company”), a leading multi-state operator, today commented on the issuance of an executive order by President Donald Trump directing agencies to begin the rescheduling of cannabis under the U.S. Controlled Substances Act.
The executive order initiates the reclassification of cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III, removing it from the most restrictive category under federal law. This will improve operating economics for licensed operators, enable expanded medical research, and further the normalization of the regulated cannabis industry.
“Cannabis rescheduling is a meaningful and long-awaited step forward for patients, research, and operators,” said Micah Anderson, Chief Executive Officer of LEEF Brands. “For LEEF, Schedule III removes the 280E tax burden, improving cash flow and allowing us to reinvest more efficiently in our people, facilities, and long-term growth. Just as importantly, it supports broader medical research and further legitimizes cannabis within the healthcare system.”
LEEF operates state-of-the-art extraction, manufacturing, and cultivation facilities serving licensed brands across California and New York. The Company believes the removal of 280E will strengthen balance sheets across the sector and provide more growth capital for companies like LEEF to accelerate expansion plans.
“From a financial perspective, rescheduling has the potential to materially improve access to capital across the cannabis industry,” said Kevin Wilson, Chief Financial Officer of LEEF Brands. “Improved regulatory clarity may lead to greater participation from institutional investors, broaden the pool of available lenders, and lower the overall cost of capital. For companies like LEEF, this creates meaningful opportunities to fund growth, invest in infrastructure, and scale operations more efficiently over time.”
In addition to rescheduling, LEEF is closely monitoring federal developments related to hemp-derived cannabinoids and potential Medicare coverage for certain CBD products. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is expected to develop a pilot program to allow some Medicare patients access to cannabinoid-based therapies, including CBD, as early as 2026.
The Company holds a dormant 100-acre hemp permit at Salisbury Canyon Ranch and operates a world-class extraction platform capable of producing high-purity, compliant cannabinoid products. LEEF believes this infrastructure provides strategic optionality as regulatory frameworks around hemp-derived cannabinoids and medical reimbursement evolve.
About LEEF Brands, Inc.
LEEF Brands, Inc. is a vertically integrated multi-state cannabis operator focused on extraction, manufacturing, and cultivation. With operations in California and New York, LEEF partners with leading brands to deliver high-quality concentrates, ingredients, and finished cannabis products. The Company’s large-scale cultivation project at Salisbury Canyon Ranch and its New York processing operations position LEEF for sustainable growth across regulated markets. For more information, visit www.leefbrands.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains certain forward-looking information and forward-looking statements, as defined in applicable securities laws (collectively, “forward-looking statements”), including, but not limited to, statements regarding the Company’s future financial condition, operations, and objectives.
Forward-looking statements reflect current expectations or beliefs regarding future events or the Company’s future performance or financial results. All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as “plans”, “expects”, “is expected”, “budget”, “scheduled”, “estimates”, “continues”, “forecasts”, “projects”, “predicts”, “intends”, “anticipates”, “targets” or “believes”, or variations of, or the negatives of, such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results “may”, “could”, “would”, “should”, “might” or “will” be taken, occur or be achieved. All forward-looking statements, including those herein, are qualified by this cautionary statement.
Although the Company believes that the expectations expressed in such statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance, and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in the statements.
There are certain factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking information, including, but not limited to, the risks disclosed in the Company’s public filings on the Company’s issuer profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.
For more information on the Company, investors are encouraged to review the Company’s public filings on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.
Contact Information
Investors:
Jesse Redmond
Head of Investor Relations & Business Development
Email: ir@leefca.com
