Producing distillate required specialized equipment. The original account identifies pharmaceutical short-path and wiped-film evaporation systems as the technology adapted for cannabis. That technological transition helped establish the foundation for commercially available high-potency THC distillate.
Pharmaceutical Roots: Short-Path and Wiped-Film Systems
SC Labs and Kenneth Morrow: Testing and Terpenes
SC Labs was founded in 2010, and Kenneth Morrow's terpene patents are identified in the original account as part of the early distillate story. Testing and terpene work helped define how distillate could be made, measured and flavored, and they form part of the background to the commercial emergence of distillate.
2013: The Clear Brands Introduces Consumer-Ready THC Distillate
The original account identifies 2013 as the first year verified commercially available THC distillate entered the cannabis market. The original account describes The Clear Brands as the first company to produce consumer-ready THC distillate using this equipment.
In 2013, The Clear Brands, founded by Chris Barone, developed consumer-ready THC distillate using pharmaceutical-grade short-path systems alongside Brian Maltais and The Clear Botanist. The original account describes The Clear as the "gold standard" of cannabis distillate, and it notes a feature that discussed the early distillate process.
2016: CCELL Changes Distillate Hardware
Distillate's commercial growth also depended on cartridge technology. In 2016, CCELL introduced ceramic-core cartridges, and that hardware change helped the distillate cartridge era expand rapidly.
Pharmaceutical Research Versus Commercial Cannabis Distillate
The caption distinguishes pharmaceutical research from commercial cannabis distillate. However, the caption identifies 2013 as the year verified commercially available THC distillate first reached the cannabis market. This distinction separates earlier pharmaceutical experimentation from the emergence of consumer-ready cannabis distillate.
Distillate Becomes the Mass-Market Standard
Distillate cartridges quickly became the mass-market standard across most legal U.S. cannabis markets. Distillate led vape sales as legal markets expanded. However, the original account identifies distillate as the nationwide volume leader.
Legacy: A Technology-Driven Development
The development of THC distillate involved more than one invention or company. The original account presents distillate as a technology-driven development that transformed cannabis vaping into a mass-market category, from SC Labs and Morrow's early work, through The Clear Brands in 2013, to CCELL hardware in 2016.
Sources
nuggnotes. "The Clear Path: The Creation of THC Distillate." Instagram, Sep 7, 2025. https://www.instagram.com/p/DOUWl8LEjTw/
The original Instagram post behind this article.
CNNBS / Baroni Cannabis. "CNNBS Announces New Partnership With Baroni Cannabis." BusinessWire, Mar 4, 2021. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210304005307/en/CNNBS-Announces-New-Partnership-With-Baroni-Cannabis
Chris Barone came to California in 2010 as an analytical chemist and "started to distill THC and created The Clear™ brand in 2013 as the first distillate brand."
Cannabis Business Times. "The Clear Brings Its Unique Take on Distillates to New Markets." Cannabis Business Times, May 3, 2018. https://www.cannabisbusinesstimes.com/business-issues-benchmarks/distribution/news/15696282/the-clear-brings-its-unique-take-on-distillates-to-new-markets
A chemist, a salesman and an engineer working in a Long Beach basement "created what most people today are calling distillate"; the company formally launched in 2013, and a fourth partner, a flavorist, built the flavor line.
Clear Cannabis Inc. "Clear Cannabis Inc. Launches Legacy Distillate Brand The Clear In Missouri Through COCO Labs Partnership." BusinessWire, May 4, 2021. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210504005204/en/
The Clear Concentrates was started in California by chemists and scientists; as "the original THC distillate brand," it is described in Ed Rosenthal's Beyond Buds (2014) as "the gold standard" in cannabis extracts; the company was established in 2013.
SC Labs. "Agricor, Botanacor, and SC Laboratories Combine to Form Leading Cannabis and Hemp Testing Laboratory Platform in North America." SC Labs, Feb 22, 2022. https://www.sclabs.com/agricor-botanacor-sc-laboratories-combine-form-leading-cannabis-hemp-testing-laboratory-platform-north-america/
"SC Labs was founded in 2010… one of the cannabis industry's oldest licensed testing labs," headquartered in Santa Cruz, California — verifies the draft's 2010 founding date.
Leaf Magazine. "Cannthropology: Titan of Terps Ken 'K' Morrow." Leaf Magazine, Sep 11, 2024. http://leafmagazines.com/learn/history/cannthropology-terp-titan-kenneth-k-morrow/
Kenneth "K" Morrow founded Trichome Technologies in 1994 and in 2012 became the first person on record to extract and isolate terpenes from cannabis; his terpene patent was filed in 2017 and has since been granted in Europe, Canada and Mexico, still pending in the US.
CCELL. "CCELL Launches New Heating Technology EVO." Oct 26, 2022. https://versedvaper.com/ccell-launches-new-heating-technology-evo/
CCELL's first-generation ceramic heating platform debuted in the vaporizer industry in 2016, and CCELL was born at the Shenzhen headquarters of SMOORE Technology — verifies the draft's 2016 ceramic-core claim.
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