POP THE PAIN AWAY

They say that the person who learns to package and sell happiness will be a
wealthy person indeed. Well, we're not there yet, but Montrealer Peter
Horowitz, president of Cannabrex Nutriceutical, may be close. The
entrepreneurial Horowitz has found a way to exploit one of the more
peculiar peccadilloes of modern mankind - namely the desire, and in some
cases the need, to get high - in the pursuit of a just and righteous cause.

Horowitz & Co. give us the Cannabrex Home Encapsulation System, also known
as the Cannabrex Kit, a well-crafted package that provides a much
healthier, more efficient, less socially stigmatized means of taking
marijuana, hash or their derivatives for medicinal reasons.

The kit supplies all the necessary ingredients and instructions to make
gel-capped pot pills that Horowitz says maximize THC absorption while
minimizing unhealthy or unpleasant side effects that come with smoking,
eating or other means of ingesting the drug. No harsh tokes or clothes that
smell like the '60s; no blistered lips and blackened cutlery in the
kitchen. And absolutely no temptation to drink the bong water.

For around 60 bills, you get your own fun and easy-to-use home prescription
system. It goes something like this: chop the shit up, add some oil, heat
it up on the stove (a process called decarboxylation, which basically
removes one of the chemical roadblocks between you and your buzz), add some
powder filler, pour it into your gel cap maker and, hello, Bob's your uncle.

Horowitz says the newly opened company - which takes orders through its
website, www.cannabrex.com - has already attracted the interest of
marijuana compassion clubs in Canada and the U.S., as well as the support
of a number of pain-afflicted individuals already, um, hooked on their product.

We went to Horowitz for the straight dope...

Does the government see you as anything more than a better-dressed,
technologically uptown, high-end head shop peddling excipient powder and
decarboxylation chemistry instead of roach clips?

Canada is one the best places to be doing this sort of thing. It's still an
uphill battle, but "marijuana" is fast becoming a good word, while
"pharmaceutical" is becoming a bad word. Marijuana is the biggest cash crop
in Canada right now - we just have to figure out how to normalize it while
our big brother from the south is trying to take over the world. They frown
upon a medicine that doesn't make them, their Drug Administration or their
pharmaceutical companies billions of dollars.

So where is the potential market for Cannabrex?

The kit was born out of necessity. A friend of mine has a condition that he
treats with marijuana. He is married with three kids and goes to school.
Smoking every day was not only affecting his health, but there is also a
certain social stigma attached to being a "stoner," and he didn't need his
kids, boss or professor seeing him go out to the parking lot to smoke a joint.

This situation, combined with his love of chemistry, inventing and research
compelled him to develop a smokeless way of ingesting THC. I helped him out
along the way, and by doing so realized the market potential for this type
of product. So we put it together and now there are people already using
the Cannabrex Kit to treat multiple sclerosis, bipolar disorder, Crohn's
disease and back pain. Some are Canadian federal exemptees, which mean they
can legally use marijuana. The list of conditions and ailments it can treat
is too long to list here.

How does your THC delivery system compare to that of the tried, true and
cheaper hash brownie?

Not only can a hash brownie, although tasty, be readily reduced to a pile
of smelly crumbs, it can also go rancid. A Cannabrex capsule uses an oil
blend that not only requires no refrigeration, but behaves more like a
carbohydrate than a fat. The fuels of preference for the body is
carbohydrates, and the body will use up its store of carbohydrates before
using other fuels. This causes the THC to take effect in a much shorter
time and in a much more effective manner.

And for those watching their weight, a Cannabrex capsule has way less carbs
than a brownie.

Given that you can buy gel caps at health food stores and the basic
chemistry at any chemical supply store, do you think your product may be a
little bit pricey for, say, someone presumably sick and possibly strapped
for cash?

First of all, the most important components of the kit are not available
anywhere retail. Secondly, if you break it down, the cost per capsule is
less than 30 cents - and that's for the initial purchase of the kit. The
refill packs will end up costing closer to 15 cents a capsule. We are also
in the final stages of developing different herbal formulas for the kit,
but I can't really get into that here.

Is there any potential for legal issues to arise, either within Canada or
cross-border, with respect to the sale of a product that is primarily a
prohibited drug delivery system?

Problems can only arise if the current laws change, but they are only
changing for the better right now, albeit a little too slowly...

Have you yourself tested your product? What were the results?

The only marijuana-treatable symptoms I suffer from are related to back
pain, and I do yoga and get massages for that. I was also too busy filling
out paperwork, but there was no lack of people willing to test out our
product. I do, however, use the Cannabrex Kit to make my own blend of
Korean ginseng capsules.

Anything to add?

Check out our website or e-mail me at peter@cannabrex.com. And tell your
parents about us. They probably have symptoms that marijuana can treat, but
they don't want to roll a joint or smoke it out in the garage where the
neighbours can see them...