The Phytotech vaporiser. "I like the truth, there's less to remember," Mr Smith, the founder of Phytotech Medical, said. "It's like my cannabis conviction here in '89 in Australia, I just think it's so ironic. "There I was having police arrest me for cultivating and having cannabis and 25 years later I've founded a company determined to develop the medical benefits associated with it. "Luckily I didn't have to do any jail time, I'm too pretty for jail." Smith is a serial entrepreneur. He has founded companies including Jabiru Metals, Colonial Brewing Co and a broadband company, Request DSL.

His latest project is Phytotech Medical, which will list on the ASX on December 22. It plans to work with farmers in Uruguay and the United States to set up marijuana crops, which it will cultivate and distribute in countries where medicinal use of the plant is legal. The marijuana will be sold as an ingredient for use in disposable vaporisers which the company will also sell to patients with conditions like cancer. About 20 other countries have decriminalised marijuana use, including North Korea, where cannabis is completely legal, Iran, where regulated use is legal, and Uruguay, where it's legal for personal use. Smith said medical marijuana had the potential to become the 'Model T Ford' of the 21st century. Already it is estimated to be worth $US1 billion in California alone and about $100 billion worldwide. Patients use about 1 gram a day and pay $US14-$US20 for it.

Medical marijuana has been legalised in more than 20 states in the US; in Washington state and Colorado, it can also be bought or grown for recreational use. While growing or using marijuana is illegal in Australia, NSW and Victoria are holding clinical trials to analyse its use as a pain-reliever. South Australia, the ACT and Tasmania are also interested in joining the study. Smith said he has been speaking with American cannabis advocate Steve DeAngelo about using Phytotech's vaporiser and crops to supply his 140,000 patients in the United States. He said he was willing to be the face of the industry, as Clooney has been for Nespresso, the market leader in the coffee-capsule business.

"I'm just a handsome devil and George is a couple of years older than me, my hair's darker and I've got an incredibly good physique and what's more I'm still on the market," Smith said of comments he made comparing himself with the actor this week. "I have this vision of me on Lake Como with two very attractive Italian models, blazing away on my vaporiser, and they say 'is that a Phytotech vaporiser you have there', and I say well yes it is." While Phytotech will be listed in Australia and run its back office from Perth, Smith and the operations team, including business partner and managing director Boaz Wachtel, are all based in Tel Aviv, Israel. Smith said Wachtel was "the father of the medical cannabis movement", citing his early work with Israeli soldiers using medical cannabis to reduce the effects of post traumatic stress disorder and associated suicide. The pair are equal partners in the company and will focus on different parts of the business, Smith on distribution and strategy and Wachtel on operations and active management.

The Phytotech float is being handled by stockbroker BBY. The offer is priced at 20 cents a share and the company hopes to raise $5 million. Smith said the offer, which closes on December 12, has been oversubscribed to the value of $15 million and would more than likely be closed early.