Mounties are investigating a B.C. man selling "Quasars," an unauthorized personal stun gun device. The colourful $49.95 devices are being marketed as the "perfect Christmas stocking filler."

Except for use by police, Tasers are illegal in Canada. But inventor David Norman says his colourful electrical stun gun is perfectly legal and will fill a market niche for personal safety devices.

Norman makes the devices in his home workshop on Gabriola Island, a gulf island in the Strait of Georgia. The product is inspired by the tennis racket-style bug zappers that emit a small electronic discharge.

On the product website, the Quasar PSD is described as a security device that delivers a powerful electronic discharge similar to a car's spark plug through a wristband to any object, person or animal it comes into contact with.

The product has a warning to keep it away from children and only use it for defensive purposes.

"Misuse of this device will result in prosecution. This device is not a toy!" bold text on the main web page reads.

While it's still only in start-up mode, Norman is offering advance orders on the website. He insists he hasn't sold any yet.

CTV News was alerted to the product when Norman dropped one off at the station's front desk. He's given away quite a few to private and corporate security guards at downtown Vancouver office buildings, as well as students at the University of British Columbia.

A shocking product

With fresh batteries, the Quasar produces 900 volts, far less than the 50,000 volts that power police Tasers. But neither the Quasar nor Taser has CSA approval and the B.C. Safety Standards Act says it's illegal to sell or use electrical equipment unless it is certified.

CTV's Peter Grainger took the Quasar to BCIT for testing. Electrical researcher Matt Grieg said while the product gives quite a jolt, it's not as powerful as the Taser by a longshot.

"A real quasar is a pretty dramatic event. This isn't," he laughs.

But even if it's not as powerful as a police weapon, RCMP use of force expert Sgt. Greg Gillis said the Quasar could still pack a punch.

"It would be painful to most persons to be affected or stimulated by," he said.

"As a citizen you can't possess it. It would fall under the classification of a prohibited weapon."

Possessing a prohibited weapon carries a fine of up to $5,000 and a six-month jail term in B.C. That punishment jumps to up to five years behind bars for an indictable offence.

Still, David Norman maintains he is producing a safe product and isn't breaking any rules.

"At the end of the day, it is not a product that is going to hurt anybody," he said.

With a report from CTV British Columbia's Peter Grainger