Italian authorities have suspended sales of a U.K. vaping device as they await a ruling on its legality from one of the country’s courts.
Hapac is a dry-herb medical cannabis vaping device that recently hit the Italian markets, made by Essex-based Liberty Herbal Technologies Limited (LHT). It was launched in various retail outlets in Italy in late 2018, selling in three different herb blends. U.K. listed company Ananda Developments is a 15% shareholder in LHT and in a market statement this week it updated shareholders on its Italian issues.
It said it had launched hapac in Italy at the turn of the year, but went on to say that it, and similar ‘cannabis-based products have not been on sale in Italy for the past two months’. The release went on to say that this was due to a ‘legal hearing regarding the labeling and content of some cannabis related products is conducted in the Parma Court’.
LHT ‘maintains that hapac products comply with all relevant laws in Italy and expects that sales will re-commence when the investigation and court hearings are complete’, it said. In the meantime all Hapac product have been taken off the shelves in shops and and warehouses’, said the company.
However Ananda went on to say that it ‘believes it has achieved proof of concept of the hapac system and will now commence its launch other international markets’. In that regard, the company says talks are currently underway to investigate possible launches in Canada and the Unites States, and online sales have also commenced.
Ananda became one of the few publicly-traded U.K. companies with a listing on the junior NEX Exchange in July 2018, when it raised £930,000 to invest in medical cannabis companies. Melissa Sturgess, is Chief Executive of Ananda Developments and spoke to CBD Testers earlier this year.
Its first investment was into iCan Israel-Cannabis Ltd, and this was followed with an investment into LHT. Speaking on the vibrancy of the CBD and medical cannabis market she said: “We are constantly assessing opportunities and I can see three deals a day from parties looking for capital.”
