Village Farms International’s CBDistillery Platform Poised to Benefit from President Trump’s Executive Order to Reschedule Marijuana

Rhea-AI Summary

Village Farms (NASDAQ: VFF) praised President Trump’s Dec 18, 2025 Executive Order directing the Attorney General to reschedule marijuana to Schedule III, saying the move could modernize U.S. cannabis policy and enable broader medical markets. The company said future insurance coverage of CBD products could transform its CBDistillery business and that it plans to activate U.S. production assets to meet rising demand for safe, affordable products.

Village Farms highlighted its role in DEA proceedings, its 2.2 million sq ft of greenhouse assets and 950 acres of unoccupied Texas farmland, and its position as a major U.S. e-commerce platform for full-spectrum hemp-derived CBD.

Positive

• Owns 2.2 million sq ft of greenhouse assets
• Holds 950 acres of unoccupied Texas farmland
• Operates a leading U.S. e-commerce platform for full-spectrum CBD

Negative

• Rescheduling is conditional: benefits apply only if enacted
• 950 acres are unoccupied, indicating unused capacity

Key Figures

Texas greenhouse assets 2.2 million sq ft Greenhouse assets in West Texas referenced in the article

Texas farmland 950 acres Unoccupied farmland in Marfa, Texas referenced in the article

Market Reality Check

$3.59 Last Close

Volume Volume 4,388,084 is 46% above the 20-day average of 3,009,951, indicating elevated interest ahead of this policy-focused news. normal

Technical Trading above its 200-day MA of 1.98, reflecting a pre-existing upward trend before this announcement.

Peers on Argus 2 Down

VFF was modestly higher (+0.97%) while momentum-flagged peers DTCK and EDBL were both down roughly 8–10%, indicating today’s setup is more stock-specific than a broad sector move.

Historical Context

Date	Event	Sentiment	Move	Catalyst
Dec 17	Executive appointment	Positive	+1.0%	Creation of Global Chief Strategy Officer role to guide regulated-market growth.
Dec 02	Regulatory update	Negative	-9.3%	Not awarded Phase I Texas medical cannabis license, but reaffirmed long-term strategy.
Nov 10	Earnings results	Positive	+16.9%	Record Q3 financial performance with higher sales, margins, and cash position.
Nov 06	Executive hire	Positive	-4.2%	New CITO appointed to lead global IT and support growth and transformation.
Sep 29	Share repurchase plan	Positive	+26.1%	$10M share buyback authorization reflecting confidence in balance sheet and cash flows.

Pattern Detected

Positive corporate or capital-allocation news has often seen aligned upside moves, while routine management changes have shown mixed or divergent reactions.

Recent Company History

Over the last few months, Village Farms reported record Q3/25 results on Nov 10, 2025, with strong sales, profitability and cash generation, and its shares moved higher on that news. A $10M share repurchase authorization on Sep 29, 2025 also coincided with a strong positive reaction. Strategic hires in technology and strategy during November supported its global growth agenda, though price responses were mixed. The December Texas license setback triggered a notable decline, underscoring sensitivity to U.S. regulatory milestones. Today’s U.S. cannabis policy news fits into this broader regulatory and expansion narrative.

Market Pulse Summary

This announcement highlights a potential U.S. policy shift to Schedule III that could expand the addressable market for Village Farms’ CBDistillery platform and U.S. production assets. The company emphasizes its role in DEA proceedings and its large-scale Texas footprint of 2.2 million sq ft of greenhouses and 950 acres of farmland. In context of recent record quarterly results and active expansion, key metrics to watch include regulatory follow-through, insurance coverage for CBD products, and how quickly demand for medical cannabis products develops.

Key Terms

schedule iii regulatory

"to reschedule Marijuana to a Schedule III drug under the Controlled Substances Act."

A Schedule III classification is a regulatory category for drugs and substances that have a recognized medical use but a moderate risk of dependence or abuse, placing them between higher-risk controlled drugs and over-the-counter medicines. For investors, this matters because it shapes how a product can be manufactured, prescribed, marketed and distributed — affecting potential sales, regulatory hurdles, labeling requirements and legal exposure in the market; think of it as a middle level of control that influences commercial access and compliance costs.

controlled substances act regulatory

"to reschedule Marijuana to a Schedule III drug under the Controlled Substances Act."

A federal law that creates the rules for which drugs and chemicals are legal, how they are classified by risk, and what licenses and controls are required for manufacture, distribution, research, and medical use. For investors, these classifications act like traffic signals — they determine how easy or hard it is for companies to develop, sell, or research certain medications and can sharply affect a company’s regulatory cost, market access, and legal risk.

dea regulatory

"legal strategy in DEA proceedings contributed to historic milestone ending prohibition"

The DEA is the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the federal agency that enforces laws on controlled substances and issues licenses for handling regulated drugs. It matters to investors because DEA actions—such as granting or revoking registrations, issuing enforcement actions, or scheduling substances—can directly affect a company’s ability to manufacture, distribute, research, or sell certain pharmaceuticals, similar to how a traffic controller can speed up or stop movement on a busy road.

alj regulatory

"represent our industry in the ALJ proceedings, and we’re proud that our actions"

An ALJ is an Administrative Law Judge, a government-official decision-maker who hears disputes between companies, individuals and regulatory agencies, much like a neutral referee settling rule-based disagreements. Investors care because ALJ rulings determine penalties, compliance requirements, licensing outcomes or benefit claims that can change a company’s legal costs, operating permissions or future earnings, and thus affect stock value and risk.

e-commerce technical

"believe our CBDistillery e-commerce platform, operational capabilities and U.S."

E-commerce is the buying and selling of goods or services over the internet. It allows people to shop from anywhere at any time, much like an online marketplace. For investors, e-commerce is important because it represents a growing way businesses reach customers, often leading to increased sales and new opportunities in the digital economy.

full-spectrum medical

"largest e-commerce platforms for full-spectrum hemp-derived CBD products in the"

Full-spectrum describes a product made to include a wide, natural range of active components from its source rather than a single isolated ingredient. Think of it like buying whole fruit instead of just juice concentrate: you get the full mix of compounds that can affect performance, user experience, and regulatory labeling. For investors, full-spectrum claims influence product positioning, customer demand, manufacturing complexity, and compliance risk, all of which can affect sales, margins, and legal exposure.

AI-generated analysis. Not financial advice.

 Future insurance coverage of CBD products has potential to drastically transform the Company’s CBDistillery business

Company’s advocacy efforts and legal strategy in DEA proceedings contributed to historic milestone ending prohibition

Village remains committed to activating U.S. production assets to meet increasing demand for safe, affordable product

LAKE MARY, Fla., Dec. 18, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Village Farms International, Inc. (“Village Farms” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: VFF), today commended U.S. President Donald Trump for his Executive Order directing the Attorney General to reschedule Marijuana to a Schedule III drug under the Controlled Substances Act. If enacted, the shift would represent a consequential step in modernizing U.S. cannabis policy and support the development of a regulatory framework more aligned with international drug policies which have recently begun to enable medical cannabis markets to thrive globally.

Michael A. DeGiglio, retired U.S. Navy captain, naval aviator and Founder, President, Chief Executive Officer of Village Farms commented, “We commend President Trump for his efforts to overcome decades of policy failures and bureaucratic red tape to advance meaningful reform that will help improve the lives of millions of Americans. We look forward to a better future in the United States in which federal cannabis policy follows scientific and medical research to unlock a new wave of investment and innovation in cannabinoid-based therapeutic products.” 

Mr. DeGiglio added, “Earlier this year, Village Farms’ legal strategy in the DEA hearing process sought to prevent a failure to reschedule cannabis. We had a unique opportunity to represent our industry in the ALJ proceedings, and we’re proud that our actions and advocacy efforts helped contribute to President Trump’s thoughtful, evidenced based approach to enacting federal reform. We remain committed to collaborating with policymakers to advance commonsense reform for our seniors, military warriors, veterans, and medical patients, and believe our CBDistillery e-commerce platform, operational capabilities and U.S. production assets can help support increasing demand for safe, affordable medical cannabis products.” 

Village Farms has long advocated for a science-led regulatory framework for cannabis in the United States, drawing on its decades of experience in controlled environment agriculture, global leadership in large-scale cannabis cultivation, track record of collaboration with governments and regulators in multiple jurisdictions, and position as one of the largest e-commerce platforms for full-spectrum hemp-derived CBD products in the United States. The Company is one of the largest cannabis growers in the world, and owns 2.2 million square feet of greenhouse assets and 950 acres of unoccupied farmland in Texas which it developed in the 1990s in one of the most favorable growing climates in North America.

About Village Farms International, Inc.

Village Farms leverages decades of experience in Controlled Environment Agriculture as a large-scale, vertically-integrated supplier of high-value, high-growth plant-based Consumer Packaged Goods. The Company built a strong foundation as the leading and longest-tenured fresh produce supplier to grocery and large-format retailers throughout the US and Canada, and now focuses its agricultural expertise on high-growth cannabinoid opportunities while maintaining strategic optionality through remaining produce assets.

In Canada, the Company's wholly owned Canadian subsidiary, Pure Sunfarms, is one of the single largest cannabis operations in the world (2.2 million square feet of greenhouse production), a low-cost producer and one of Canada’s highest quality and best-selling brands. The Company owns an incremental 2.6 million square feet of greenhouse capacity in Canada for future expansion, and also owns 80% of Québec-based, Rose LifeScience, a leader in the commercialization of cannabis products.

Internationally, Village Farms is targeting selected, nascent, legal cannabis opportunities with significant growth potential. The Company exports medical cannabis from its EU GMP certified facility in Canada to international markets including Germany, the United Kingdom, Israel, Australia, and New Zealand. The Company is expanding its export business to new countries and customers, and making select investments in international production assets. In Europe, wholly-owned Leli Holland has one of 10 licenses to grow and distribute recreational cannabis within the Dutch Coffee Shop Experiment.

In the US, wholly-owned Balanced Health Botanicals is one of the leading CBD and hemp-derived brands and e-commerce platforms in the country. Subject to compliance with all applicable US federal and state laws and stock exchange rules, Village Farms plans to enter the US THC market via multiple strategies, leveraging its Texas-based greenhouse assets (2.2 million square feet of existing greenhouse capacity and 950 acres of owned, unoccupied land for future expansion).

Village Farms Clean Energy (VFCE), through a partnership with Atlanta-based Terreva Renewables, creates renewable natural gas from landfill gas at its Delta RNG facility. VFCE receives royalties on all revenue generated.

Contact Information

Sam Gibbons
Senior Vice President, Corporate Affairs
Phone: (407) 936-1190 ext. 328
Email: sgibbons@villagefarms.com

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information

As used in this Press Release, the terms “Village Farms”, “Village Farms International”, the “Company”, “we”, “us”, “our” and similar references refer to Village Farms International, Inc. and our consolidated subsidiaries, and the term “Common Shares” refers to our common shares, no par value. Our financial information is presented in U.S. dollars and all references in this Press Release to “$” means U.S. dollars and all references to “C$” means Canadian dollars.

This Press Release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, (the "Securities Act") and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"), and is subject to the safe harbor created by those sections. This Press Release also contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. We refer to such forward-looking statements and forward-looking information collectively as "forward-looking statements". Forward-looking statements may relate to the Company's future outlook or financial position and anticipated events or results and may include statements regarding the financial position, business strategy, budgets, expansion plans, litigation, projected production, projected costs, capital expenditures, financial results, tariffs, taxes, plans and objectives of or involving the Company or statements regarding the anticipated benefits from the closing of the transaction involving Vanguard Food LP. Particularly, statements regarding future results, performance, achievements, prospects or opportunities for the Company, the greenhouse vegetable or produce industry, the cannabis industry and market and our energy segment are forward-looking statements. In some cases, forward-looking information can be identified by such terms as "can", "outlook", "may", "might", "will", "could", "should", "would", "occur", "expect", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "intend", "try", "estimate", "predict", "potential", "continue", "likely", "schedule", "objectives", or the negative or grammatical variation thereof or other similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts. The forward-looking statements in this Press Release are subject to risks that may include, but are not limited to: our limited operating history in the cannabis and cannabinoids industry, including that of Pure Sunfarms, Corp. (“Pure Sunfarms”), Rose LifeScience Inc. (“Rose” or “Rose LifeScience”) and Balanced Health Botanicals, LLC (“Balanced Health”); the limited operational history of the Delta RNG Project in our energy segment and Leli Holland B.V. ("Leli"); the legal status of the cannabis business of Pure Sunfarms and Rose and the hemp business of Balanced Health and uncertainty regarding the legality and regulatory status of cannabis in the United States; risks relating to the integration of Balanced Health and Rose into our consolidated business; risks relating to obtaining additional financing on acceptable terms, including our dependence upon credit facilities and dilutive transactions; potential difficulties in achieving and/or maintaining profitability; variability of product pricing; risks inherent in the cannabis, hemp, CBD, cannabinoids, and agricultural businesses; our market position and competitive position; our ability to leverage current business relationships for future business involving hemp and cannabinoids; the ability of Pure Sunfarms and Rose to cultivate and distribute cannabis in Canada as well as exports; risks related to the start-up of international production at our Netherlands operations under Leli; existing and new governmental regulations, including risks related to regulatory compliance and regarding obtaining and maintaining licenses required under the Cannabis Act (Canada), the Criminal Code and other Acts, S.C. 2018, C. 16 (Canada) for its Canadian operational facilities, and changes in our regulatory requirements; legal and operational risks relating to expected conversion of our greenhouses to cannabis production in Canada and in the United States; risks related to rules and regulations at the U.S. Federal (Food and Drug Administration and United States Department of Agriculture), state and municipal levels with respect to produce and hemp, cannabidiol-based products commercialization; retail consolidation, technological advances and other forms of competition; transportation disruptions; product liability and other potential litigation; retention of key executives; labor issues; uninsured and underinsured losses; vulnerability to rising energy costs; inflationary effects on costs of cultivation and transportation; recessionary effects on demand of our products; environmental, health and safety risks, foreign exchange exposure, risks associated with cross-border trade and the potential for tariffs and other trade restrictions; difficulties in managing our growth; restrictive covenants under our credit facilities; natural catastrophes; elevated interest rates; and tax risks.

The Company has based these forward-looking statements on factors and assumptions about future events and financial trends that it believes may affect its financial condition, results of operations, business strategy and financial needs. Although the forward-looking statements contained in this Press Release are based upon assumptions that management believes are reasonable based on information currently available to management, there can be no assurance that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements necessarily involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company's control, which may cause the Company's or the industry's actual results, performance, achievements, prospects and opportunities in future periods to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things, the factors contained in the Company's filings with securities regulators, including this Press Release and the Company’s most recently filed annual report on Form 10-K.

When relying on forward-looking statements to make decisions, the Company cautions readers not to place undue reliance on these statements, as forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties and should not be read as guarantees of future results, performance, achievements, prospects and opportunities. The forward-looking statements made in this Press Release relate only to events or information as of the date on which the statements are made in this Press Release. Except as required by law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, after the date on which the statements are made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

FAQ

What did Village Farms (VFF) say about the Dec 18, 2025 marijuana rescheduling Executive Order?

Village Farms said the Dec 18, 2025 order to direct rescheduling to Schedule III could modernize U.S. policy and support its CBDistillery business.

How could President Trump’s rescheduling affect Village Farms’ CBDistillery (VFF)?

The company said future insurance coverage and a modernized regulatory framework could significantly expand demand for CBDistillery products.

What U.S. production assets does Village Farms (VFF) have to meet demand?

Village Farms reported 2.2 million sq ft of greenhouse assets and 950 acres of unoccupied Texas farmland it can activate.

Did Village Farms (VFF) claim it influenced federal cannabis policy?

Village Farms stated its advocacy and legal strategy in DEA proceedings helped contribute to the policy milestone.

Is the benefit to Village Farms (VFF) from rescheduling guaranteed?

No; the company framed benefits as contingent if the rescheduling is enacted and on future regulatory developments.