Goodness Growth Holdings, Inc. ("Goodness Growth" or the "Company") (CSE: GDNS; OTCQX: GDNSF), a physician-led, science-focused cannabis company and IP incubator, today announced that its subsidiary, Resurgent Biosciences ("Resurgent"), has filed for a U.S. patent to create an expansive suite of virtual reality ("VR") applications that can be used by practitioners during psychedelic-based therapies to enhance and guide patients through the experience and potentially create optimized, longer-lasting therapeutic outcomes.

One of the largest unmet needs in the psychedelic space is a scalable platform that will allow medical practitioners to administer psychedelic medicine remotely in a consistent and controlled environment. To address this need, Resurgent is developing a suite of VR applications that will provide customizable environments and programs for psychedelic therapy and the extensive preparation work necessary to optimize therapeutic psychedelic experiences.

"The therapeutic potential of psychedelic medicines at least partially depends on an effective preparation phase to ensure that patients are in the right mindset and in beneficial surroundings in order to create a positive experience, which is often referred to as set and setting," said Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Kyle Kingsley , M.D. "We believe that VR programs allow practitioners to better prepare and guide patients through their experiences and may optimize therapeutic approaches with psychedelic medicines."

Resurgent has contracted with Cubicle Ninjas, a leading VR development firm in Chicago , to begin work on development of a VR suite for various technology applications for psychedelic therapies. The Cubicle Ninjas team was selected because of their extensive VR development expertise, particularly in the context of health and wellness applications.

Resurgent and Cubicle Ninjas Plan to Begin Developing the Following VR Applications:

1. A Scalable VR Platform for Use in Psychedelic Medicine, which will provide support for the preparation phase, the peak experience phase, and the post-experience integration phase.
2. A Psychedelic Biofeedback VR Research Tool, which will focus on providing users simulated psychedelic and other VR experiences coupled with extensive biofeedback data collection with the goal of identifying digital biomarkers that may predict which patients will have the best therapeutic outcomes with psychedelic therapy.
3. A Group Integration Experience , which will replicate a collective, interactive, group psychedelic experience by harnessing the power of VR to bring remote users into a shared virtual space before, during, and after a peak psychedelic experience.

The applications will allow for practitioners and patients to customize and adapt VR programs based on individual needs with easy-to-use controls and settings. Resurgent expects to have working prototypes completed by the end of the year.

About Goodness Growth Holdings, Inc.

Goodness Growth Holdings, Inc., is a physician-led, science-focused holding company whose mission is to bring the power of plants to the world. The Company's operations consist primarily of its multi-state cannabis company subsidiary, Vireo Health, and its science and intellectual property incubator, Resurgent Biosciences. The Company manufactures proprietary, branded cannabis products in environmentally friendly facilities, state-of-the-art cultivation sites and distributes its products through its growing network of Green Goods™ and other retail locations and third-party dispensaries. Its teams of more than 500 employees are focused on the development of differentiated products, driving scientific innovation of plant-based medicines, and developing meaningful intellectual property. Today, the Company is licensed to grow, process, and/or distribute cannabis in eight markets and operates 17 dispensaries across the United States . For more information about Goodness Growth Holdings, please visit www.goodnessgrowth.com .

About Cubicle Ninjas

Cubicle Ninjas is a creative marketing agency with over 10 years of success creating brands, products, platforms and experiences that drive connections. The full-service creative design agency was founded to create one-of-a-kind experiences through the union of design and technology. Their world-class design and development teams innovate for Fortune 500, start-ups, non-profits, and mid-sized firms alike, crafting functionally intuitive and emotionally impactful work. For more information about Cubicle Ninjas, please visit www.cubicleninjas.com .

Forward-Looking Statement Disclosure

This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable United States and Canadian securities legislation. To the extent any forward-looking information in this press release constitutes "financial outlooks" within the meaning of applicable United States or Canadian securities laws, such information is being provided as preliminary financial results and the reader is cautioned that this information may not be appropriate for any other purpose and the reader should not place undue reliance on such financial outlooks. Forward-looking information contained in this press release may be identified by the use of words such as "plan," "potentially," "potential," "will," "believe,"  "may," "expects,"  or variations of such words and phrases.  These statements should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results. Forward-looking information includes both known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance, or achievements of the Company or its subsidiaries to be materially different from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements or information contained in this press release. Forward-looking information is based upon a number of estimates and assumptions of management, believed but not certain to be reasonable, in light of management's experience and perception of trends, current conditions, and expected developments, as well as other factors relevant in the circumstances, including assumptions in respect of current and future market conditions, the current and future regulatory environment; and the availability of licenses, approvals and permits.

Although the Company believes that the expectations and assumptions on which such forward-looking information is based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking information because the Company can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Actual results and developments may differ materially from those contemplated by these statements. Forward-looking information is subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking information. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, risks related to current and future economic conditions; risks related to the COVID-19 pandemic; federal, state, local, and foreign government laws, rules, and regulations, including federal and state laws in the United States relating to psychedelics  and any changes to such laws; operational, regulatory, and other risks; execution of business strategy; difficulty to forecast; conflicts of interest; liquidity and additional financing; and risk factors set out in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020 , which is available on EDGAR with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and filed with the Canadian securities regulators and available under the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com .

The statements in this press release are made as of the date of this release. The Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or results, or otherwise, other than as required by applicable securities laws.

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SOURCE Goodness Growth Holdings