#185 The Great Vape Upgrade: How Cannabis Carts Grew Up
#185 The Great Vape Upgrade: How Cannabis Carts Grew Up
When Canada legalized cannabis in October 2018, vape products weren't part of the initial rollout. These "Cannabis 2.0" products (including extracts and edibles) only became legal a year later, with the first cartridges hitting shelves in December 2019. Despite the late start, vapes have more than made up for lost time.
By 2022, about a third of Canadian cannabis consumers reported using vape pens, a number that has grown year over year. The legal vape market generated around $440 million in 2024 and is forecast to nearly double by 2030. That's a steep growth curve for a category that arrived late to the party. Part of the appeal is convenience with no grinder, no rolling, and no smell clinging to your jacket. But a bigger reason is that both the hardware and the oil inside it have gotten dramatically better.
How vape technology matured
Early legal carts were rough. A lot of them used wick-and-coil designs borrowed from nicotine vapes, which tend to burn thick cannabis oil unevenly and leave you tasting hot metal by the end of the tank. Then ceramic happened.
Ceramic heating elements changed the experience. Instead of a metal coil scorching the oil, a porous ceramic core heats it more evenly and at a lower temperature, which protects the terpenes (the compounds that carry flavour and aroma) and gives you a cleaner pull. Less burnt taste, more of what the strain actually smells like. Most carts worth buying now use some version of ceramic.
The other shift is the all-in-one, or AIO. A traditional setup is a 510-threaded cartridge that screws onto a separate battery you bought once and keep reusing. An AIO bundles the oil, the coil, and a rechargeable battery into one sealed unit. You charge it over USB, vape it until it's empty, and recycle it. No threading, no compatibility guessing, no dead battery when you actually want to use it.
Not all oils are created equal
While the hardware is important, it’s the oil inside that really counts. This is where vapes get interesting, because not all oils are created equal. Understanding the differences is key to spending your money wisely.
Distillate is the workhorse. It's THC stripped down to near-purity, which is why you'll see carts hitting 88 to 92 percent THC. It's potent and clean, but distillation strips out the natural terpenes, so brands add them back, sometimes from cannabis, sometimes from other botanical sources.
Then there's live resin and cured resin, which are extracted to keep the plant's original terpene profile intact. These usually test lower on paper for THC (often 70 to 85 percent) because actual plant compounds take up room that pure distillate would otherwise fill, but a lot of people prefer the fuller, truer flavour.
You'll also see carts built around shatter and diamonds. Shatter is a glassy, brittle concentrate, sometimes used as a full-spectrum extract (FSE) that carries the whole terpene profile along with the THC.
Diamonds are crystallized THCA, basically pure potency, often dissolved back into a terpene-rich sauce so the cart hits hard but still tastes like something.
Rosin goes a step further: it's solventless, pressed from the plant with heat and pressure instead of chemicals, and it's usually a connoisseur's favourite because it truly reflects the plant's original flavour and effects.
None of these is objectively "best." Distillate gives you potency and consistency for less money, and diamonds push that potency even higher. Live resin, shatter, and rosin trade some of that number on the label for fuller flavour and a more complete experience.
Ultimately, the best choice comes down to your priorities: are you after maximum THC, or the most authentic flavour? Knowing the answer will make your shopping experience much easier.
Where to start
Herbal Dispatch's vape collection runs deep, from everyday distillate carts to solventless rosin. Here are a few that stand out.
Buzz Cannabis is the everyday value pick, with the Citrus Swirl, Violet Rush, Neon Razz, and Maui Punch carts all full-gram hybrids at around 91 to 93 percent THC, with a touch of CBD. These are fruit-forward distillate carts for a reliable pull without overthinking it.
Happy Hour covers the higher end with more character, led by the Split Hit Dual Chamber pen, a genuinely clever bit of hardware with two chambers you can switch between or blend. Happy Hour's Royal Zest pen tests at 90.6 percent THC and is a solid pick if you want a fragrant pull without paying live-resin prices.
Tytan is a leader in All-in-One (AIO) vapes, beginning with the Vibe AIO. It’s a sealed unit packing 1.2 grams of a hybrid THC blend in a Jungle Jive flavour. Tytan’s Eaze and Groove AIOs offer different cannabinoid ratios: Eaze features a roughly 3:2 THC to CBD blend for a gentler effect, while Groove adds CBG to the mix.
Adults Only is an NSFW line built on liquid diamonds, with carts and disposables that push past 96 percent THC. Adults Only's Cheeky Cherry, Promiscuous Peach, and Bumpin' Blue Raspberry come in both 510 carts and disposables, so you can pick your hardware and still get the same punch.
1964 does FSE resin properly, with craft-flower carts and AIOs like Blue Dream and Comatose vapes testing north of 11 percent terpenes. While the THC percentage on the label might seem lower than some competitors, the rich terpene profile delivers a full-bodied, nuanced experience.
The future is already here
Since legalization, vapes have evolved from an afterthought into one of the most popular ways to consume cannabis in Canada. Innovations like ceramic coils and all-in-one (AIO) devices have improved the user experience, while the move from basic distillate to live resin, diamonds, and rosin has given consumers a reason to care about what’s inside. Whether you’re chasing potency, flavour, or convenience, understanding these differences will help you find the right vape for your needs.
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