Grown Rogue Wins Highest Honors at Cultivation Competition and Achieves Record Breaking THC Potency

Awards recognize best in class cultivators emphasizing premium quality cannabis

MEDFORD, OR, Jan. 8, 2019 /PRNewswire/ - Grown Rogue International Inc. (CSE:GRIN) ("Grown Rogue" or the "Company"), announced two significant cultivation milestones over the past 30 days.  First, the company took home top honors from the Grow Classic held in Eugene, Oregon. The Company was one of 31 elite growers who entered the three-category invitation only competition, in which Grown Rogue took first place for Highest Percentage THC, first place for Highest Percentage Terpenes, and third place in the Growers Choice overall.  A few days later, Green Leaf Lab, the nation's 1^st accredited and licensed cannabis laboratory, confirmed that Grown Rogue's recent outdoor harvest included a strain that tested at a 35.13%, potentially breaking Oregon State records for outdoor cultivation.

"This is certainly one of the highest THC levels we have ever seen in our 8 years of testing," said Anthony DiFalco, Green Leaf Lab Sales & Marketing Director.

"Cultivation as a practice has been marginalized as a commodity, particularly in some markets where supply has risen and price for quality flower has decreased," explains CEO and Co-Founder of Grown Rogue Obie Strickler.  "The reality is that cultivating cannabis at scale is a rather modern endeavor and our team treats the daily care of our plants as core to our company's focus on providing the best possible products for our customers."

At the Grow Classic, Grown Rogue's winning result was cultivated in its state-of-the-art indoor growing facility where it grows a select variety of its top-selling cannabis genetics. However, the Green Leaf record setting THC content came from the Company's Monkey Train strain, which was grown outdoor in Oregon's Rogue Valley, a region known for its premier microclimates which produces some of the best outdoor cannabis in the world. Indoor growing provides excellent environmental control, which typically mimics the naturally occurring climate in the Rogue Valley.  However, combining full spectrum natural sun with optimal climate results in producing higher cannabinoid and terpene levels which was realized in the record setting potency and the 4.35% terpenes. Terpenes are the compounds which create the unique flavor and aroma of plants including cannabis.

In response to receiving the awards, Mr. Strickler added "We are incredibly proud of our cultivation team for the best-in-class flower that they consistently produce both in our indoor facility and our two outdoor farms. It is very gratifying to have this competition validate the quality that our team consistently achieves."

"For us it's not about breaking records, but rather pushing boundaries in all aspects of cultivation which includes exotic genetics and maximizing terpene levels to enhance flavors all focused on ensuring the right consumer experience," explained Chief Strategy Officer, Jacques Habra.  "While cannabis will continue to evolve into various derivatives such as oils, edibles, and topicals, it is the quality of the cultivated flower that is the fundamental starting point that enables brands like Grown Rogue to stand out."

Grown Magazine's Grow Classic is an invitation-only competition hosted by Grow Magazine each November and bills itself as The Quintessential Cannabis Horticulture Competition. Over fifty growers (31 of which submitted final product) were provided with four clones from the same strain from the same mother plant and invited to grow the best plants possible. For the Growers Choice award, only the participating growers themselves are the judges with blind labeled products– so there are no paid or potentially biased judges.

Several other testing labs in Oregon are processing the news of the 35.13% THC outdoor strain achievement and Grown Rogue will report if indeed this is a validated State Record.

About Grown Rogue

Grown Rogue International (CSE: GRIN) is a vertically-integrated, multi-state cannabis company curating innovative products to provide consumers with the right cannabis experience. Each of Grown Rogue's products and strains are categorized and marketed based on unique effects and designed for the full range of a consumers' active lifestyle from Relaxation to Energizing. The Company's "seed to experience" positioning conveys the vision of ensuring "the right experience, every time".  Grown Rogue is scaling the vertically integrated model into multiple states by incorporating best in class manufacturing facilities and a proprietary distribution platform based on Microsoft technology. Grown Rogue's diverse cannabis product suite includes premium flower, patent-pending nitrogen sealed pre-rolls, oil and concentrates, and edibles featuring a partnership with a world-renowned chocolatier.

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SOURCE Grown Rogue