At a glance
Kingpen is a California cannabis vape brand launched in 2014 alongside the Kingroll infused pre-roll line. It became known for strain-labeled cartridges and statewide distribution, later joining StateHouse Holdings through Harborside’s 2022 acquisition of Loudpack. Its history also includes major counterfeiting, making licensed-source verification central to the brand rather than an optional footnote.
Launch and original proposition
The official history dates Kingpen and Kingroll to 2014 in California. The company positioned the two lines around reliable, strain-specific THC products at a time when cartridge consistency was uneven: Kingpen for vape oil and Kingroll for infused pre-rolls.
The brand says its oil undergoes triple refinement and is blended with strain-specific terpenes.
Products and sister lines
Kingpen centers on cartridges and vape formats, while Kingroll covers infused pre-rolls. The current corporate family also references Kingchew. Strain and format availability rotates, and the official history’s award examples include Cali-O, Gelato, Skywalker OG and Original Zookies.
Kingpen cannabis oil should not be confused with The Kind Pen, a separate hardware company. Similar names make careful entity matching essential for products, media and recall records.
Loudpack and StateHouse ownership
Kingpen was part of Loudpack’s California portfolio. Harborside completed its acquisition of Loudpack in April 2022 and later changed the combined company’s name to StateHouse Holdings. StateHouse filings list Kingpen, Kingroll and Loudpack among owned or controlled brands.
That corporate history is distinct from retail availability.
Exact 2016 High Times results
The official 2016 Medical Cannabis Concentrates Cup results list Cali-O Kingpen by 710 Kingpen/Greenwolf in first place and Skywalker Kingpen by the same collaborators in another first-place vape-cartridge result. These entries establish product, collaborator, event and placement.
The results are stronger evidence than an undated “award-winning” label and remain part of the brand’s documented history.
Later award claims and limits
Kingpen’s history states first place in 2019 for Skywalker OG, first place in 2021 for Original Zookies, and first and second in 2017 for Gelato. It also lists 2021 Kingroll placements for Cannalope AK x Cannalope Kush and Do Si Do x Cannalope Kush.
These are specific company-published claims, but this pass did not locate every matching High Times ledger. They remain attributed to Kingpen rather than upgraded to independently verified results.
The 2019 EVALI context
During the national EVALI outbreak, hospitalized patients reported many THC-vape labels, including Kingpen. CDC concluded that THC-containing products, especially those from informal sources, played a major role, while stating the outbreak was not attributable to one brand. Vitamin E acetate was strongly associated with the injury pattern.
A reported label did not prove that the product was authentic. Counterfeit packaging made self-reported brand names an unreliable proxy for legal manufacture.
Counterfeits and the company response
Loudpack told Time that authentic Kingpen products were made for California dispensaries and distinguished them from unregulated bootlegs using Kingpen packaging. That response matters because the brand was widely copied; it does not erase the public-health history or prove authenticity from appearance alone.
Testing, licensing and buying checks
Confirm the manufacturer or distributor named on the package, its California license information, the batch identifier and retailer license. Avoid informal or out-of-state online sellers. If an item cannot be traced through the regulated supply chain, the brand name provides no meaningful safety assurance.
Corporate and regulatory records change. Current package data and state databases should override older marketing and ownership summaries.
How to read Kingpen today. Kingpen’s legacy combines early California vape distribution, real High Times wins, a Loudpack-to-StateHouse ownership path and a clear counterfeit lesson from the 2019 vape crisis.
Galleries should surface authentic products, Kingroll and Kingchew connections, competition results, ownership news and safety reporting. They should not attach unrelated Kind Pen hardware or unverified listings that merely contain the word “king.”