VICTORIA, B.C., Dec. 21, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Emerald Health Therapeutics Inc. (“Emerald” or the “Company”) (TSX-V:EMH) (OTCQX:EMHTF) has elected to exercise its right to accelerate the exercise of $2.00 common share purchase warrants ("Warrants") issued by the Company on February 10, 2017. Pursuant to the terms of the Warrants, the Company may accelerate the expiry date of the Warrants when the closing sale price of Emerald’s common shares on the TSX Venture Exchange is greater than $2.50 per share for a period of 20 consecutive trading days and by giving notice to the holders thereof.



As of the market close on December 19, 2017, Emerald’s common shares had traded above $2.50 for 20 consecutive trading days. Notice of the accelerated Warrant expiry was provided to Warrant holders effective December 20, 2017. The Warrants will now expire at 1:00 p.m. (Pacific time) on Friday, January 19, 2018. Any Warrants remaining unexercised after this date will be cancelled.

As of close of market December 20, 2017, a total of 4,549,325 of the 5,271,025 issued Warrants have been exercised, providing Emerald proceeds of $9,098,650. If the remaining 721,700 Warrants are exercised, the Company will receive an additional $1,443,400.

In addition, Emerald has received proceeds of $17,380,220 from the exercise of 6,684,700 of the 7,792,276 $2.60 warrants issued on April 20, 2017. If its shares continue to trade on the TSX Venture Exchange above $3.50 until January 4, 2018, Emerald will notify remaining holders of $2.60 warrants that they have 30 days to exercise these warrants. The Company would receive an additional $2,879,698 if the remaining $2.60 warrants are exercised.

"The exercise of the vast majority of the two sets of warrants recently issued by Emerald long before their expiry dates – and well ahead of their acceleration trigger events – is great news for the Company’s shareholders as Emerald has received $26.5 million from these warrant exercises,” said Avtar Dhillon, MD, Executive Chairman of Emerald. “These funds will support our advancing production scaling and production innovation plans. Construction of our wholly owned Metro Vancouver greenhouse and conversion of our partnered greenhouse in Delta, BC are progressing well. Full implementation of these facilities will place Emerald in the top tier of production capacity among Canadian Licensed Producers as we prepare for full legalization of adult use cannabis in 2018.”

About Emerald Health Therapeutics Inc.

Emerald Health Therapeutics, Inc. (TSX-V:EMH) (OTCQX:EMHTF) operates through Emerald Health Botanicals Inc. ("Botanicals"), a wholly owned subsidiary and Licensed Producer under Canada’s Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations. Through Botanicals, Emerald is authorized to produce and sell dried medical cannabis flower and medical cannabis oil. It currently operates an indoor facility in Victoria, BC, and is building a 500,000 s.f. greenhouse on 32 acres in Metro Vancouver, with expansion potential to 1 million s.f. to serve the anticipated legal Canadian adult-use cannabis market starting in 2018. Emerald also owns 50% of Pure Sunfarms, a partnership with Village Farms that is converting an existing 1.1 million s.f. greenhouse in Delta, BC from growing tomatoes to growing cannabis. Emerald’s team is highly experienced in life sciences, product development and large-scale agribusiness. Emerald is part of the Emerald Health group, which is broadly focused on developing pharmaceutical, botanical and nutraceutical products designed to provide wellness and medical benefits by interacting with the human body’s endocannabinoid system.

Please visit www.emeraldhealth.ca for more information.

For investor and media contacts:

invest@emeraldhealth.ca

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Statements Regarding Forward Looking Information

Certain statements in this press release constitute forward-looking statements, within the meaning of applicable securities laws. All statements that are not historical facts, including without limitation, statements regarding future estimates, plans, programs, forecasts, projections, objectives, assumptions, expectations or beliefs of future performance, are "forward-looking statements".

We caution you that such "forward-looking statements" involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual and future events to differ materially from those anticipated in such statements.

Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to expansion of Emerald’s business; creation of strategic development opportunities; commercial operations; construction or conversion of production facilities; international opportunities for the Company; the Company becoming a leading Canadian supplier of cannabis products; expected timing of any of the above matters; and other information that is based on forecasts of future results, estimates of amounts not yet determinable and assumptions of management.

Emerald Health Therapeutics Inc. does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements except as required by law. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties relating to, among other things, failure to obtain regulatory approval for closing of the proposed transaction or to meet the conditions set out in the Agreement; failure of the federal government to approve legislation legalizing sales of non-therapeutic adult-use cannabis; failure to obtain Health Canada and other regulatory approvals; failure to obtain necessary financing; results of production and sale activities; the Company's historical experience with medical marijuana operations; results of scientific research; uninsured risks; regulatory changes; difficulties in construction or in obtaining qualified contractors to complete construction or conversion of facilities; availability of production facilities; timeliness of government approvals and the granting of permits and licenses; changes in prices and costs; actual operating and financial performance of facilities; equipment and processes relative to specifications and expectations; as well as the other risk factors set out in the Company’s annual information form and other filings with the applicable Canadian securities regulators, which may be viewed at www.sedar.com. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.