Israeli smokable cannabis sticks to hit US market in January
The main upside to these smokable sticks is their consistency. The sticks allow for accurate, measured doses of cannabis extracts, making them much easier to regulate worldwide.
By IDAN ZONSHINEStickIt CBD sticks(photo credit: Courtesy)
The Israeli start-up industry could be taking over an unexpected new market: smokable cannabis sticks.Last month, an Israeli start-up, TrichomeShell, which makes a smokable cannabis toothpick called “moodpicks,” smashed fundraising goals as they prepared to enter the Canadian cannabis market.This week, another Israeli cannabis start-up which makes small toothpick-like sticks made of pure cannabis extract, StickIt, announced their plans to begin selling their products in the US, the UK and Europe this coming January.Both products are made from 100% pure cannabis extracts and can be easily inserted and smoked in any standard cigarette, doing away with the need for rolling.However, the main upside to these smokable sticks is their consistency.Compounds within cannabis, in its bud form, can vary widely. Though THC and CBD are the most well-known cannabinoids, cannabis plants contain over 100 different cannabinoids (each have different physiological effects) and over 300 terpenes (flavor and scent particles) in varying concentrations.Both Trichomeshell and StickIt provide solutions to this issue, allowing for accurate, measured doses of cannabis extracts for a consistent effect, making them much easier to regulate worldwide.While the products seem similar, there are slight differences between them. StickIt’s sticks lack the moodpick’s pointy edges but seem to currently allow a greater variance of compounds to treat several different conditions, while also being able to manipulate the flavor and scent of the cigarette (listing examples like chocolate, whiskey and chewing gum).Moodpicks are already available in Europe, in CBD form only, along with another product of TrichomeShell’s, the Power Powder, a water-soluble cannabis powder that can be put into drinks to avoid smoking.While the two products will most likely be competing against each other once StickIt enters the European market, each company’s exclusivity in the US and Canadian markets could provide easier pathways to financial success and stability.However, before they take hold in the worldwide markets, both companies still need to complete the process for patenting their products internationally, which would significantly speed up the regulative process, something both companies have started.StickIt is the brainchild of nuclear physicist turned serial entrepreneur, Dr. Asher Holzer, founder of several successful companies such as InspireMD, TheraCoat-UroGen, BioSig Technologies, Inc., Maple and others.
