LOS ANGELES, CA--(Marketwired - Sep 13, 2016) - Vitality Biopharma, Inc. ( OTCQB : VBIO ) ("Vitality" or the "Company"), a corporation dedicated to the development of cannabinoid prodrug pharmaceuticals, and to unlocking the power of cannabinoids for the treatment of serious neurological and inflammatory disorders, wishes to advise that a recent article written by Robert Brooke, Company CEO, sheds new light on key factors in the fight against the increasing epidemic of prescription painkiller related deaths.

In his article, Mr. Brooke notes, "Opiates are one of the key classes of drugs we're seeking to replace, or to make far less necessary, as our proprietary cannabosides could provide a potent alternative form of pain relief and help avoid, or greatly reduce, the use of opiates for the treatment of many conditions including inflammatory bowel disease (where 70% of patients now regularly receive opiates upon hospitalization)."

The statistics are startling, as last year there were 47,055 Americans that died from drug overdoses, and opioids were involved in 61% of these cases. Since 2013, the rates of drug-overdose deaths have exceeded the number of deaths from car accidents. This is not uniquely an American problem, but the U.S. uses an astonishing 80% of the world's opioids, while representing only 4.6% of the world's population. The New England Journal of Medicine has just written that the rising death toll has been rivaled in modern history only by that at the peak of the AIDS epidemic in the early 1990s.

On Friday, the Washington Post reported that an Arizona-based maker of fentanyl, the drug most commonly reported in many of these deaths, just donated $500,000 to oppose legalization of medical marijuana. This at a time when studies have shown that today about 75% to 86% of heroin users started with prescription opioid pain relievers. So the first exposure to opiates is far more likely to come not from heroin (as was overwhelmingly true in the 1960's), but rather from prescription drugs.

To find out more about Vitality Biopharma and its development of cannaboside pharmaceuticals, please visit www.vitality.bio and to read Mr. Brooke's article "What We Should Know About Opiates and Prescription Drug Abuse," please visit the CEO Blog at www.vitality.bio/investors/news.

About Vitality Biopharma ( OTCQB : VBIO )

Vitality Biopharma is dedicated to unlocking the power of cannabinoids for the treatment of serious neurological and inflammatory disorders. For more information, visit: www.vitality.bio. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

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This news release contains "forward-looking statements" as that term is defined in Section 27(a) of the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended and Section 21(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Statements in this press release which are not purely historical are forward-looking statements and include any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Such factors include, among others, the inherent uncertainties associated with new projects and development stage companies. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release, and we assume no obligation to update the forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Although we believe that any beliefs, plans, expectations and intentions contained in this press release are reasonable, there can be no assurance that any such beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions will prove to be accurate. Investors should consult all of the information set forth herein and should also refer to the risk factors disclosure outlined in our annual report on Form 10-K for the most recent fiscal year, our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and other periodic reports filed from time-to-time with the Securities and Exchange Commission.