Interviews
Jürgen Bickel: “I would like to see more respect for recreational users, because at least half of them are also medicinal users”
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Jürgen Bickel, co-founder of Storz & Bickel, graduated in civil engineering and carpentry, but it was in technological innovation for cannabis that he found his true calling: developing the world’s first certified medical cannabis vaporizers. Together with his friend Markus Storz, in 2000 he created the Volcano, a revolutionary vaporizer that separates the vaporization process from inhalation, offering greater control, safety and precision — essential qualities for the therapeutic use of cannabis.
The device became a landmark in the industry and gave rise to a full line of certified medicinal vaporizers, such as the Mighty (which is recommended by Infarmed in Portugal for medicinal cannabis patients), the Crafty and, more recently, the Venty.
Originally from Tüttlingen, a city in southern Germany known for its medical device industry, Bickel leads the company that has become a global leader, with certifications in more than 20 countries and a presence in 121 markets. The company is now synonymous with quality, reliability and innovation, both in the medical and recreational sectors.
It was at Spannabis 2025, in March, in Barcelona, that we spoke with Jürgen Bickel about the behind-the-scenes of the creation of Volcano, the evolution of medical devices, the new Venty vaporizer (which he gave us and which we will test soon), the challenges of international certification and the importance of universal access to quality products.
How did you, as an engineer, end up in the cannabis industry and producing medicinal devices for people to vaporize cannabis?
First of all, thank you for having me. We are located in the south of Germany, in Tüttlingen, and the city itself is known for the medical device industry. We developed vaporizers in the late 90s, early 2000s. We saw that people were using heat guns to consume cannabis and it became clear to us that you don't have to burn the material to produce an aerosol and vapor, and that you can inhale it. And of course, a heat gun is not a medical device. So we used this concept of hot air, convection extraction of THC, and developed the Volcano vaporizer, a machine in which the vaporization and inhalation processes are separated by the balloon. It is also possible for a patient to have someone else produce the vapor in the balloon and give the balloon to the patient, so that the patient only has the balloon in their hand and is not in contact with electricity, heat, glass or anything like that. So from the beginning, it was obvious to us that this should become a medical device. It was on the market for about ten years and people really liked it. Then a good study was done in California by Donald Abrams [doctor], which proved that THC does enter the system, the body of healthy patients. With this study, we were then able to move forward with the approval of Volcano as a medical device, have a quality management system, have the device approved according to the law and standards and we became the first — and to this day, the only — manufacturer of medical devices for cannabinoids in the world.
What did you do before making vaporizers?
I'm a civil engineer. And a carpenter! That's my profession. And Markus Storz, who developed the Volcano, was not a technician, he did it alone, you know? Of course, in our hometown Tüttlingen, with this clinically wise industry, we have a lot of experts and friends who we could ask: “What is the best way to do this? What is the best process to get there?” So in that way we went through this whole development process. It was just a little bit of external help and of course I think the key was also the balloon concept. At first it seemed strange and even today many people think “Why the balloon?” But it is very useful.
It's true, the first time I tried the Volcano balloon I also thought: “What's all this for?” (laughs)
Yes, yes, but the concept is really very compelling, you know? As I said, the separation of the vaporization and inhalation processes, and then the reproducibility. It's always the same airflow, the same heat, the same material, and then there's also some kind of measurement. It's always one balloon, two balloons, three balloons, and you know exactly the dosage. So all of these things are very beneficial.
What I also remember from that experience was the taste and the sensation of not inhaling the smoke; feeling the terpenes, the aroma… For me, in fact, it was something revolutionary.
Yes, yes. I would say yes, too. And actually, one of the main things that's interesting about vaping is the taste. It almost tastes like it smells, it's got the terpenes clearly in it. If people go back to smoking normally, it might be easy, but it's not very pleasant; it doesn't taste good. You have all that combustion, the smoke in the room, everywhere. Vaping is very clean, it tastes very good. And if you're indoors, it doesn't smell too bad. After a few minutes, it's gone. So obviously these are really clear benefits for the patient.
Markus Storz and Jürgen Bickel, the two founders of Storz & Bickel. Photo: DR
But how did Jürgen and his friend Markus Storz come up with the idea of making cannabis vaporizers? Were you already smoking cannabis at that time?
Yes, we had some experience with cannabis. And it was Markus Storz, my partner, who really pushed the idea in the beginning — and he was a non-smoker. And if you're not a smoker (in Europe there's this weird habit of people mixing cannabis with tobacco and even nicotine) then you use it pure; but even pure, it's still smoked and if you're a non-smoker, why would you want to smoke it??? Then this heat gun first came out in Amsterdam, with Eagle Bill using it on a bong, but the concept was clear: you don't have to burn the material. I mean, scientifically, the THC in the plant is THC-A. You have to transform it, you have to decarboxylate it, and that's done by heat. You can do it by burning it in a joint, but you can also do it by going all the way down to 180 degrees, which is below the combustion point of cellulose, which is 230 degrees, and there's a window between 180 and 230 degrees where it works — and that's why temperature control on these devices is so important. So you only get that good flavor at the exact temperature. If the temperature fluctuates too much, the top part is working and the bottom part isn't working. So the exact temperature is critical. The common feature of our devices is that they all have very exact temperature control, which gives a very nice flavor.
Is this something you have researched and developed for all your vaporizers, keeping the temperature stable for best effect?
Exactly. This is the core of every device. The core is the heater. And then there's the question, of course, of how we heat the air: it's by convection, not conduction; we don't heat a plate. There are a lot of devices out there that heat just one plate; those are conduction vaporizers. We call it the 'frying pan principle', but this way of heating doesn't give you good temperature control. So first, we need to heat the air, then we need to see what the airflow is, how much we actually want to take in. Of course, outside the balloon, there's no resistance. With other devices, we have resistance, and with our latest device, the Venty, the resistance is very low. But of course, if you want to have a lot of airflow and the exact temperature, you need a lot of power to heat that air, and that determines the size of the devices, because with the Venty or the Mighty, you need two batteries; one is not enough. You have enough power available to have good performance.
I think I tried the Volcano about 20 years ago. Back then, that was the only thing that existed, wasn't it? When did they develop more portable devices?
Volcano is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. 25 years! We’ll have a special edition coming out soon. And yes, in the beginning it was just the balloon, and then we developed a mobile device in 2014. So for the first 14 years it was just the Volcano. We first made the Volcano, then the Volcano Digit, then we had the Easy Valve system, and then the Volcano Hybrid device, which is suitable for asthma sufferers. And after all of that, we brought out the Mighty and the Crafty in 2014.
When you started the company with your partner, did you ever imagine that Storz & Bickel would become so big?
No, no, never! And our dreams in the beginning were very modest. I remember when we had the goal of selling a hundred Volcanos in a month and today we do it in less than a day! And, for example, last year we shipped it to 121 countries around the world, so it’s also great that we are so globally present — and cannabis is so globally present. Regardless of the legal status, people are using cannabis everywhere in the world — recreationally, medicinally, it doesn’t matter, but it really is a global phenomenon or culture.
Do you have any idea how many people use cannabis for medicinal purposes and how many use it for recreational purposes?
I think it's hard to make that distinction. There's recreational use that can actually be medicinal use. We see a lot of people who are long-term users who are maybe a bit hyperactive or who, for some reason, function better with cannabis. So, is it medicinal use or recreational use? It's not always very clear. So I don't really like to make that distinction. It's very, very difficult. And I also think that if you look at our devices, at the certification of medical devices, or if you look at the system in Germany, where the quality of cannabis is GMP [Good Manufacturing Practice], also recreational users should have the same right as a medicinal user, in terms of the quality of the material, in terms of the quality of the devices, how to use them. There's no real reason to say 'this is for recreational use'. So why not GMP standards for recreational users as well? Why isn't that approved? Why are they all using their lungs ultimately to get THC into their system? So I would like to see more respect for recreational users, because at least half of them are also medicinal users.
Are Storz & Bickel medical devices also GMP? There aren't many like that.
Well, no, there aren't many. Of course, in terms of medical devices, it's not about GMP. GMP standards are for the material itself, for the cannabis itself. [For devices] it's ISO 13485, a medical certification. There are some people who have tried it, but you can't buy it. You can't find it. If you look at Australia, Canada, Germany, the only certification available is ours. All the others are also used, but they're not approved. So for us, it would be good if more people would go down that path and give that certified quality to their customers.
Do you have an idea of how many medical authorities in recommended countries already recommend these devices to patients?
I don't have an exact number, but many of them are doing it and sometimes they even have difficulty doing it because they are the only ones and they don't want to favour just one company. But it's not our fault that we are the only ones. We are certified in the European Union, in Australia, in Israel, in Canada, in New Zealand. We are currently working in Thailand and South Africa, the two new countries that may emerge. And in the US, you never know what they will do. It always depends on the local regulations and whether it is possible to obtain this approval, but of course, we maintain this level, we want to have this respect for the customer, that we are actually providing certified quality.
Jürgen, if you weren't doing this, what would you be doing?
Before I started doing this with Markus, I was a civil engineer. I was working in South America on development projects for drinking water supplies and wastewater treatment systems. That was my job at the time, so I would probably have worked somewhere taking care of people, getting them clean water to drink.
After conquering the world with Storz & Bickel, do you think you will ever return to civil engineering?
Oh, no, I don't think so!
Is this more fun to do than being an engineer?
I mean, being an engineer can be very satisfying as well. And of course, in this medical device, in our vaporizer, there's a lot of engineering involved, so the technical aspect is still very important. I think what's very, very satisfying is to be here at a trade show. feedback The feedback we get from people is really very positive; there are a lot of people who come here, thanking us, saying that it has changed their lives, that they have stopped smoking nicotine. And a lot of people are trusting the device and are very happy. And everyone shows that they have this device. Half an hour ago, there was a guy here who bought it in 2015, that is, 10 years ago, and he is still using it, so it is very, very satisfying to be here and receive this feedback.
Jürgen is a regular presence at the Storz & Bickel stands, where he welcomes and speaks personally to customers. Here, at Spannabis 2025 in Barcelona. Photo: Laura Ramos | CannaReporter®
It’s obvious that the global cannabis situation is changing every day. I know that when you started, the situation was very different. If you could decide, what would you like to see with the legalization of cannabis worldwide or at least the acceptance of cannabis as a medicinal plant?
The least we could do would be decriminalization. It doesn't make sense to put people in jail for possessing cannabis. I think the least we can do is follow the German model: at least grow it yourself and it's not considered a drug, the possibility of setting up a social club, and of course we should have shops where people can try it, and in all forms, in concentrates, edibles, dried flower itself... Personally, I'm a clear fan of dried flower. The less processed the cannabis is, the better it is - because in these concentrates and these things, you never really know what's in there. And it should be available, it should be a choice for the customer. The only important thing is that everyone who supplies cannabis to people supplies clean, very well-produced and very healthy material. So, overall, I think that over the last 25 years, development has been in the right direction. There has been no setbacks. First it was medicinal, then recreational, so I think this is very positive and I hope that more and more countries, after Germany, Canada, etc., have done it, will do the same.
I think there is still a lot of room for Storz & Bickel to continue growing worldwide, but perhaps one day you will want to retire and perhaps you would like to rest, rather than going to trade fairs like this one. What would you like to do when you have more time for yourself?
I’m not thinking about retirement too much at the moment. On the one hand, I still enjoy being active and we still have ideas for what we want to do. On the other hand, of course I enjoy cycling and travelling, but I also travel the world with cannabis and with this work, so at the moment I’m not looking forward to retirement.
Don't you make many plans for the future, are you more focused on the present moment?
Yes, at least I try, and I always try to plan only for the following year. One year is a good horizon these days; a few years ago, you could perhaps plan for three or five years, but today things are changing so quickly and so profoundly that I think you have to think year by year.
This year at Spannabis you have Venty, a completely new device. What innovation does this new device bring to consumers?
The first is that it's a completely new heating technology; it's a fast heater. We have a 20-second heating time, so it's very fast. And the second is that it has a much higher airflow. If you look at the Mighty or the Crafty, you have a 10-liter airflow; here, you have a 20-liter airflow, and so the resistance to pulling the smoke is very low and produces a very pleasant vapor. Therefore, it is definitely the best dry flower vaporizer available today.
It's also a bit smaller than the Mighty, so it may be more portable.
Yes, it is a little smaller in terms of form factor, but it can always be smaller. Of course, we are also trying to work on making it a little more practical, but if it is smaller, it will also have only one battery and its battery life will be shorter. As always, everything has advantages and disadvantages.
Do you plan to release smaller devices in the future?
Yes, I am very confident that during this year, probably in the autumn, we will present something new.
So, can we expect some news soon?
For sure!
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[Disclaimer: Please note that this text was originally written in Portuguese and is translated into English and other languages using an automatic translator. Some words may differ from the original and typos or errors may occur in other languages.]____________________________________________________________________________________________________
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With a degree in Journalism from the University of Coimbra, Laura Ramos has a postgraduate degree in Photography and has been a Journalist since 1998. Winner of the Business of Cannabis Awards in the category "Journalist of the Year 2024", Laura was a correspondent for Jornal de Notícias in Rome, Italy, and Press Officer in the Office of the Minister of Education of the 21st Portuguese Government. She has an international certification in Permaculture (PDC) and created the street-art photography archive “Say What? Lisbon” @saywhatlisbon. Co-founder and Editor of CannaReporter® and coordinator of PTMC - Portugal Medical Cannabis, Laura directed the documentary “Pacientes” and was part of the steering group of the first Postgraduate Course in GxP's for Medicinal Cannabis in Portugal, in partnership with the Military Laboratory and the Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Lisbon.
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