Marijuana vapors expanding amid interest in medical marijuana

O.penVAPE co-founder Chris McElvany at the company headquarters in Denver. (STAFF PHOTO / MICHAEL POLLICK)

As medicinal marijuana has spread, so has interest in vaporizing — rather than smoking — the plant.

To capitalize on that trend, a group of entrepreneurs based in Denver formed O.penVAPE in August 2012.

O.penVAPE co-founder Chris McElvany at the company headquarters in Denver. (STAFF PHOTO / MICHAEL POLLICK)

O.penVAPE co-founder Chris McElvany at the company headquarters in Denver. (STAFF PHOTO / MICHAEL POLLICK)

Since then, the organization has grown from 20 marijuana dispensaries to 300 in Colorado, alone.

Today, the company distributes its pocket vaporizers and the hash oil cartridges that fit inside them in four states.

By the end of this year, company co-founder Chris McElvany says O.penVAPE will be in 12 states — and at least one foreign country.

“We are also selling in Spain,” he said.

About 60 people work directly for O.penVAPE, with another 125 or so involved in affiliated grow operations. The company also works with licensees nationwide.

“We are the largest cannabis brand in the nation at the moment, and the fastest growing,” McElvany said. “A lot of folks have coined us as the ‘Google of cannabis.’ But if I had to identify us with a major company, I would say we are more the ‘Apple of cannabis.’ ”

He liked that comparison better because he believes both Apple and O.penVAPE are consumer product companies where slick design and high functionality are considered of paramount importance.

And like Apple and Google, O.penVAPE has its sights set on Wall Street.

McElvany said the company is preparing detailed and audited financial statements aimed at an initial public offering in early 2017.

“Our path right now is very much in the direction of a public offering,” he said.

In anticipation of passage of a medical marijuana amendment in Florida in November, McElvany said, the company is vetting two investment groups interested in becoming licensees for the Sunshine State.

O.penVAPE’s technology isn’t new: The e-cigarette industry uses it as well.

Vaporizers, which are the size of a fat fountain pen, contain a rechargeable battery, some circuitry, and a heating coil.

The company’s original vaporizer, o.PEN, requires a proprietary cannabis extract cartridge. A new model, called the Go-Pen, is designed to work with various cartridges.

Prices range from $20 to $80.

The company also is launching an e-commerce site, openvape.com, where consumers can vaporizers. Cartridges containing cannabis extract, however, may only be bought in states where medical or recreational marijuana is legal.

Cartridges containing 250-milliliters of cannabis extract sell for $30 for medical patients and $45 for recreational users.

“This will allow any kind of retailer, anywhere in the world, to offer our product,” McElvany said. “We are really just looking for brand awareness as we roll the business into various states.”