Kanavape, the cannabinoid electronic cigarette

Developed by the French-Czech company Kanavape, the electronic cigarette of the same name has been the subject of controversy for several days, and has also irritated the French health minister, Marisol Touraine.

Although its creators present it as 100% legal, it raises a good many questions among addiction specialists.

KANAVAPE, an electronic joint?

Why such indignation? Because this e-cigarette lets users vape a natural hemp extract. The e-liquid of the Kanavape electronic cigarette is a hemp oil described as therapeutic, with cannabinoid extracts and almost no tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), less than 0.2%, which is what makes it legal.
Our cannabis electronic cigarette is “free of any psychotropic effect”, says one of Kanavape’s co-founders, unlike its close relative, which is banned in France. Its e-liquid contains 5% CBD, cannabidiol, which is itself authorised. According to its makers, this new kind of vaporiser has “anti-stress” and “relaxing” effects and offers painkilling and anxiety-reducing properties.
Kanavape’s co-founders are hoping to ride the wave of the electronic cigarette in France, and nothing appears to stand in the way of a launch, first announced for early January but which could be brought forward to Thursday 18 December.

An irritated health ministry

As soon as the e-cigarette was announced, the health minister Marisol Touraine told RTL that she was clearly opposed to its sale in France. “I am against a product of this kind being marketed in France”, she explained, because “it is clearly an incitement to use cannabis”, a move she described as “possibly punishable under French law”.
According to an AFP source, the health minister announced on Tuesday 16 December that she would refer the matter to the courts in order to ban the e-cigarette with cannabinoid extracts.
For the time being, the Kanavape e-cig is still available for pre-order on the brand’s official website. That situation could change by January, because while Kanavape irritates the minister, a good many specialists and addiction experts are also concerned about its launch.

In short, the main charge against the Kanavape electronic cigarette is that, by offering a legal alternative to cannabis, it draws consumers towards illegal drugs.