We Have High Hopes For The So-Called “Keurig Of Weed”

There are already Keurig-like pods and devices for Campbell's soup, juicing, and cocktails. The machine is arguably all we need to fuel up, fill up, and wind down. Now, marijuana tech startup CannaKorp is promising a new way to Netflix and chill. Their forthcoming "Keurig of weed" will take the work out of getting high in the same way Keurig made morning coffee happen: with the pop of a pod and touch of a button. Invented by Michael Bourque, the CannaCloud vaporizes pre-packaged marijuana pods in a minute and lasts for up to 15 minutes. Judging by its advertising, CannaCloud isn't hoping to reach stereotypical stoners. In a video, a middle-aged woman who looks like Weeds lead Nancy Botwin's straight-laced sister, inserts a single-use weed pod in her CannaCloud, waits a minute, and gracefully inhales. Retailing for $149.95, the CannaCloud doesn't include the cost of marijuana pods. For stoners who prefer to DIY, the company is also prototyping the CannaMatic: a device that packs ground weed into pods. And while the price tag might seem steep, investors just committed $1.58 million to its launch, The Verge reports. Anecdotally, the reviews are blazing. “People said, ‘Oh my God, how fast can I have one of those?’," CannaKorp Chairman David Manly (formerly senior vice president of Keurig Green Mountain) told The Boston Globe. "Which is exactly what people said when they saw the Keurig." The company is hoping to cash in on what Forbes estimates is a $7-billion booming marijuana industry that's only poised for more expansion and profits as full legalization potentially expands beyond Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington.

Forbes reports the CannaCloud will first go on sale in Boulder, Colorado, by the end of 2016. Just in time for an unexpected Christmas present for your parents.