The company says it is only months from launching its product in Israel and plans to enter the US market next year.
By IDAN ZONSHINEGreen Point's prototype cannabis oil extraction machine.(photo credit: GREEN POINT)
Green Point, a new start-up based in Beersheba, has quickly shattered its pre-seed goal of NIS 800,000, to develop with its partner Univo Pharmaceuticals a new espresso-style machine that allows cannabis users to easily create vials of high-quality cannabis oil from any strain. It is now launching a seed round for market penetration.The machine uses capsules filled with ethanol, which absorbs cannabinoids and terpenes from the cannabis, to create oil from up to 5 grams worth of cannabis within a matter of minutes.The process of extracting oil from cannabis usually involves machinery that is both expensive and dangerous (due to the use of flammable and explosive oils), and even with the most experienced of marijuana extraction technicians on your side will likely take several hours before finishing the extraction process.Green Point’s working prototype has not only been proven to be safe and easy to use, but has also been shown to produce above-average quality cannabis, due to its unique method of cannabis oil extraction and evaporation.The product comes with a simple mobile app which controls the machine, allowing users to create different mixtures and tinctures according to their personal preferences.Green Point CEO and founder Ben Leibusher spoke to The Jerusalem Post on Monday, explaining that cannabis oil’s greatest strength is its versatility.“Cannabis oil is like Silly Putty,” he said. “You can ingest it through your food, through your drink, through drops that you take orally or through vaporization, all of which are significantly healthier alternatives to smoking.”
While smoking cannabis is nowhere near as harmful to health as tobacco smoking (due to the lack of carcinogenic materials), many users still choose to mix their cannabis with tobacco, and even those who smoke pure cannabis are still harming their throats, lungs and mouths due to the inhalation of smoke.AdvertisementHe explained that most cannabis users in Israel (around 70%, according to Leibusher) prefer to ingest the drug by smoking, but that if legalization were to happen in the coming years (as is expected, considering the overwhelming consensus in favor of the move in the last Knesset), that trend could very quickly be reversed.
“When looking at countries that have chosen to legalize recreational cannabis, you can see the shift from smoking to oils happening. In every country that has done so, within around two to three years from the time the market is regulated, oils begin taking up north of 50% of the share of users.“It may feel a bit pretentious to even say this, but Green Point today is around where Nespresso was 20-25 years ago, because we are pioneers in what we do,” Leibusher said.He said that it doesn’t matter that other products exist (or are in production) for home cannabis oil extraction, explaining that the company’s greatest strength is that “Green Point is the first home machine that can provide a complete personal experience for the user.”
