The 'Keurig for marijuana' is finally coming - and it looks amazing
The world's first single-serve, pod-based vaporizer system is coming to market in early 2017. Dubbed the CannaCloud, it's essentially the Keurig of cannabis.
The CannaCloud, made by Boston-based startup CannaKorp, could bring a level of precision and ease to marijuana consumption that could help elevate pot above its crunchy, hippie stigma, if the device finds mainstream success.
Here's how CannaCloud works: The user inserts a pre-measured cup of marijuana into a travel mug-like canister. With the press of a button, the canister heats the marijuana and fills with vapor in less than a minute. A plastic mouthpiece opens a one-way valve that releases the vapor. VoilÀ.
While the comparable Pax 2, dubbed the "iPhone of vaporizers," boasts minimalist design and an incredible build quality - users have to pack the devices themselves. The CannaCloud system is possibly the first to offer scale-weighted, pre-packaged dosages of Mary Jane.
If using the CannaCloud sounds similar to popping a K-Cup into a Keurig machine, that's because CannaKorp has two former executives from the leading single-serve coffee maker company sitting at the helm.
Users will be able to select the strain and strength of the CannaCups at one of CannaKorp's 50 partnering dispensaries across the country, and may eventually be able to buy a subscription through the company website.
This is good news for anyone who lights up, from patients to recreational stoners.
Many marijuana products now come labeled with ingredients and an exact THC dosage, which prevents users from consuming an amount that makes them feel uncomfortable. But research shows these labels can be inaccurate. Lab tests on various edible marijuana products, for example, have shown the amount of THC can be far higher or lower than what is promised on the label.
While many manufacturers and dispensaries tout their use of independent labs to ensure quality, CannaKorp's high-tech system could introduce an unprecedented level of consistency.
"When you pick up one of the pods, you're able to read the brand, strength, and strain," Dave Manly, chairman of CannaKorp, told Tech Insider back in November. "Every time you do it, it's going to be the same."
This kind of luxury comes at a premium. The CannaCloud will retail for $149, roughly half the cost of the Pax 2 vaporizer. But a single-use pod, which contains only 0.4 grams of marijuana (the amount you'd find in a pre-roll joint), will run $9.99 each. That's about double the cost of a pre-roll joint in California.
CannaKorp closed a seed round of $1.58 million in April to jump-start production. The Boston Globe reports the company expects to ship in early 2017, focusing on the medicinal market first.
"One of our dreams is that someday you'll go into your CVS or Walgreens, and CannaCups will be right there on the shelf, much like cough medicine," Manly says. "We may be a ways away from that. But I think as things evolve and people understand cannabis better, I think it could be mainstream and we'll be right there with a consumer product."