In December of 2017, slightly less than one year before Canada would become just the second country to legalize the recreational use of cannabis, Smiths Falls, ON based Canopy Growth Corporation hired Carleton electrical engineering alumnus Peter Popplewell (BEng/02, MASc/04, PhD/10) as the company’s first Chief Technology Officer and only dedicated technology research and development employee.

Fast-forwarding to today, with Canada having recently celebrated its one-year anniversary of cannabis legalization, Canopy Growth has since sprouted to become an industry giant as one of the largest pharmaceutical-grade cannabis producers worldwide. Having grown his team at the company’s Kanata, ON location to include nearly 50 employees, Popplewell now oversees all of Canopy Growth’s technology-based research and development for both recreational and medical markets.

With new legislation coming into effect this past October, launching the industry’s next chapter by opening the door to an array of new cannabis-related products, Popplewell and his group look to get the jump on an emerging market by developing what is likely Canada’s first and only line of vaporizers designed specifically for cannabis.

Battery-powered vaping devices differ from traditional methods of cannabis consumption in that they produce a combination of aerosol and vapour by heating either concentrated cannabis extracts or cannabis leaf (known as flower).

Having assembled his “dream team” at Canopy Growth, featuring an interdisciplinary group of Carleton co-op students and graduates, Popplewell is now ready to show the world that when it comes to the health of consumers, his newest devices aren’t just blowing vapour.

As concerns mount south of the border surrounding growing reports from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on the number of confirmed cases involving vaping-related lung illnesses and deaths linked to heavy metals and other toxic substances in nicotine based e-cigarettes and other unregulated vape products, Popplewell’s team at Canopy Growth have dedicated immense time and resources towards ensuring these mistakes aren’t replicated here in Canada, partly by helping to keep users informed.

“Imagine a device that’s inherently been designed to be the world’s smartest vaporizer,” says Popplewell. “In pairing with an all-new companion app, consumers will now experience complete transparency in being able to view exactly what’s in their product, along with where it originated from, right on their smartphone.”

In responding to cases where substandard vaping devices from other suppliers have caused fires and even explosions as a result of poor design quality and cheap components, Canopy Growth’s new products will also adhere to currently optional UL 8139 standards, which evaluate the safety of electrical systems within electronic cigarettes and vaping devices, including batteries, chargers, protection circuits and more.