The History of Vaping Cannabis (As I Remember)

The Spark of Inspiration: Late 90s

In the late 1990s, during an era dominated by imported brick weed with limited access to high-quality U.S.-grown flower, I had an encounter that would change the trajectory of my life and the cannabis industry. I was a young adult, around 20, traveling from Oregon to Texas when I was seated next to an executive from the tobacco industry. We started a conversation, and he began sharing details of a revolutionary project. He showed me a device that looked like a cross between a cigarette and a Bic pen and declared it to be the future of smoking: the electronic cigarette. My immediate thought was, “How amazing would it be to travel with a device like this for cannabis?” That moment planted the seed for a significant part of my life's work.

Early Experimentation: Colorado, 2009

Fast forward to 2009 in Colorado, where the cannabis industry began to find footing with new regulations. China had started producing vape hardware, initially designed for liquid nicotine, which included cotton balls to absorb the liquid. We began experimenting with cannabis oils, using these early pen-like vapes. These devices, often called "pens" because of their shape and cap, became a discreet way to consume cannabis.

At the time, the cannabis extract industry was still nascent. People were exploring various solvent-based extraction methods on a larger scale. Butane Hash Oil (BHO) was available but often of low quality due to the grade of cannabis being extracted and poor processing methods. CO2 extraction was also emerging, though the units were expensive for small emerging cannabis businesses, and companies like Waters refused to work with the cannabis industry. As a result, custom CO2 extraction units were custom-built by a few pioneering companies in Colorado, including Delta9 Labs, Organna-labs, and The Farm.

A Game-Changing Innovation: Late 2010

In late 2010, a friend who owned a dispensary in Denver called me about a "new" type of vape pen. When I visited, I saw he had a large box of vape batteries and a significant innovation: the cartridge. This solved the problem of putting cannabis oil on a cotton ball. However, the quality of most cannabis oil wasn't perfect, and filling these early cartridges with dark, sticky BHO was challenging.

Luckily, I had access to high-quality CO2 oil from The Farm, where I had established a relationship due to their commitment to quality. Their extraction process produced clean, flavorful oil perfect for these new cartridges. The CO2 oil was easy to fill into the cartridges and retained the strain's flavor. This was a breakthrough, and we knew the future had arrived.

Pioneering the Market: Launching "Hummingbird"

After perfecting the technology over the next month, I sold my business to The Farm, and we merged, forming one company. We started planning the launch of the first vape brand I knew of, "Hummingbird." The golden oil in the cartridge looked like nectar, inspiring the name. That year, The Farm's CO2 oil business skyrocketed from about $100k to $1M in annual revenue.

The Competitive Landscape

While we were making strides, other companies were also innovating. Organna-Labs was one of them, as I discovered during a chance encounter at a restaurant. They created the "O-Pen Vape," a dominant brand in the mid-2010s. However, competition and the failure to innovate eventually led to their decline.

Continued Innovation and Challenges

Despite early success, I left the business in 2012 to focus on new, growing techniques and expanding my yoga studio. Unfortunately, The Farm's CEO did not share the same vision for vaping, and the Hummingbird brand was shelved. However, the industry continued to evolve, and I continued to innovate. Revolution, a company in Chicago I helped found, introduced the first wickless vape in 2015, leading to the development of the "Terp Tank," one of the purest full-spectrum cannabis carts on the market. Eventually, the introduction of C-CELL technology revolutionized the industry, offering reliable performance and great flavor.

Today's Market and Future Prospects

Today, cannabis vapes are more advanced and varied than ever, offering live resin, live rosin, cured CO2 oil, and flavored distillates with specific terpenes and cannabinoids for targeted effects. Hardware continues to improve, providing consumers with better experiences and more extensive tank options.

The future of vaping cannabis is bright, with continued advancements in hardware performance and more affordable options driven by technological progress and an oversupply of flowers. As the industry evolves, seeing what innovations come next will be exciting.

Conclusion

Reflecting on my journey from a serendipitous meeting on a plane to pioneering the cannabis vape industry, I am proud of my role in this transformative era. The evolution from rudimentary nicotine vapes to sophisticated cannabis cartridges showcases the relentless innovation within the industry. As we look to the future, cannabis consumers prefer convenience products more and more, ensuring the potential for continued growth and improvement in cannabis vaping is full of opportunity.