E-spliff takes tokers to a place of relaxation, not euphoria
‘Many people suffering from illnesses such as cancer and MS say this is the best response to their symptoms.’
THE INVENTOR of the world’s first electronic cannabis cigarette has found himself at the centre of intense controversy after launching the product in Britain and elsewhere last week.
The Home Office has cast doubt on its legality, the French health minister has vowed to ban it, and the company’s bank account has been blocked.
Antonin Cohen looked distinctly laid back earlier this week, however, as he drew on a KanaVape, as the e-spliff is called, in an office in Paris – and that, in itself, may be an advertisement for the product.
His cigarette is made from hemp, a cannabis plant that contains virtually no tetrahydrocannabinol or THC, the compound found in marijuana that produces euphoria.
As a result, the KanaVape leaves you feeling not so much high as relaxed. Indeed, it only takes a few puffs to become immune to concern: you are left with a woody taste in your mouth and a belief that the answer to all your problems is a long nap.
Consider Cohen, who founded KanaVape with his business partner Sebastien Beguerie, an agroengineer who has devoted his life to the study of cannabis. He left a comfortable job in London, returned to his native France, invested his savings, took out a bank loan and developed the KanaVape kit.
This costs £39 (NZ$78) and consists of a rechargeable battery, a cartridge containing hemp oil and an atomiser to vaporise the liquid.
The cartridge lasts for 200 puffs and refills cost £19.50.
Cohen had hoped to be taking orders last week. After the French government declared the KanaVape illegal, however, the company’s bank refused to accept payments and it will be unable to supply British customers until January.
This would be enough to drive most entrepreneurs to despair.
Antonin Cohen
Cohen, 28, merely shrugged and said that if he could not do business in Britain and France, he would move to the Czech Republic, where his business has deals with farmers to produce hemp.
He is convinced the KanaVape will eventually be authorised all over Europe.
He says that with less than 0.2 per cent of THC it does not contain a controlled drug and cannot be compared to a conventional cannabis joint. ‘‘It just favours relaxation.’’ Cohen and Beguerie insist their aim is not so much to earn a quick fortune as to promote the use of hemp as an antidote to stress and pain. ‘‘Many people suffering from illnesses such as cancer and MS say this is the best response to their symptoms,’’ said Cohen. ‘‘But they can only get it illegally and I find that scandalous.’’
He said the KanaVape contained only 5 per cent of cannabidiol – one of the active compounds found in cannabis – which is too little to be of significant medical use.