PLUGPLAY is a Los Angeles cannabis vape brand built on a two-piece magnetic system: the PLUG oil pod and the PLAY battery. Three friends from high school started it out of a garage in 2017, and it has since grown into a catalog of pods, all-in-ones, joints, collector batteries and a hemp line called BLENDS.
The pods still carry it. Headset ranked PLUGPLAY No. 4 in California vapor pens for August 2026.
Three friends, a garage and a magnetic pod
Co-founder Peter “The Plug” Tang told Honeysuckle in May 2024 that the crew started in the garage and figured it out as they went. In his words, “we didn't know what we were doing.”
The name came first as PLUG & PLAY, pairing the pod with the battery and borrowing the idea of hardware that works the second you connect it. A year in, trademark issues pushed the switch to PLUGPLAY. The aqua colorway fuses blue for technology with green for the plant, and the motto reads “Love for all. Hatred for none.”
PLUG pods and the 500mAh PLAY battery
The system is simple. A PLUG pod snaps magnetically onto a PLAY battery, and the battery stays in the pocket while the pods rotate. PLUGPLAY rates the 500mAh PLAY at more than 350 puffs per charge.
The PLAY Battery Kit lists at $25 in Pink Steel, Green Steel, Orange Steel, Blue Steel, Red Steel and Classic Black. Beyond pods and batteries, the catalog splits into AIO all-in-one devices and JOINTS. Tang described single joints, infused joints and a six-pack built from an eighth of indoor flower with kief, developed with cultivators in the company's network.
DNA, LIVEST and Exotics on the menu
The pods come in named tiers. The homepage runs Pink Rose DNA and GMO DNA, WiFi OG and Chemnesia under LIVEST, and Jelly Roll under Exotics, each with a link to verified retailers on Weedmaps. Regional banners push Guava Lava in New York and Banana Mylk in California.
Headset's August 2026 top sellers were all 1-gram distillate PLUGs: Exotics Melon Dew, DNA Watermelon Sorbet, DNA Blue Dream, Exotics Berry Gang and Exotics Strawberry Champagne.
Batteries as a canvas: Carrots, RNBW and Desto Dubb
Because the battery sticks around, PLUGPLAY treats it as merch. The Artist Series drops limited-edition batteries with original full-color artwork and custom collector packaging, pitched as a nod to local artists and the communities behind them.
Collaborations fill the limited-edition shelf. The PLAY Battery Kit with Carrots by Anwar Carrots sold at $35 and is sold out. The RNBW collection, framed around inclusivity, music and community, produced a $35 RNBW kit and a $20 EDC Exclusive battery, both sold out.
Desto Dubb got a limited PLAY battery in two gradient purple colorways plus an all-over print drawn from his clothing collection. Honeysuckle's 2024 profile also credited These Foos' Foolato line and a run of summer festival activations.
From California to Nevada, Washington, Colorado and New York
California is home base. The site footer carries California licenses C11-0001471-LIC and CDPH-10004734, and region pages cover California, Washington, Colorado and New York, where a set of NY Exclusive Plugs sits on its own page.
Nevada came through licensing. On September 19, 2019, 1933 Industries announced a 12-month agreement for its 91%-owned subsidiary, Alternative Medicine Association, to manufacture PLUGPLAY distillate and vape pens for Nevada dispensaries. Jon Lee, PLUGPLAY's vice president of business development, spoke for the brand in the release. By 2024, Honeysuckle counted more than 650 retailers across four territories.
PLUGPLAY also runs an authentication page and a JUST RECYCLE program that collects used JUSTPLAY products and batteries, tied to the GAIACA cannabis waste initiative.
BLENDS by PLUGPLAY and the hemp lane
BLENDS is the hemp-derived extension, started in Los Angeles to reach people outside PLUGPLAY's licensed markets. The lineup covers hemp PLUG pods and PLAY batteries, all-in-ones, JUSTPLAY disposables, pre-rolls and non-alcoholic seltzers made with hemp-derived delta-9 THC from US-grown hemp.
The hemp side worked the trade-show circuit. At CHAMPS Las Vegas in July 2025, PLUGPLAY Hemp sponsored the lounge, built a booth with towering battery pillars and giant pod boxes, and launched hemp all-in-ones in eight flavors plus pre-rolls. Tang turned up at the Topgolf afterparty.
The seltzers debuted for retailers and distributors at CHAMPS Fort Lauderdale in November 2025. BLENDS announced the consumer launch on April 18, 2026, with Cider Crush, Concord Crisp, Piña Cooler and Lime Spritz at $15.99 per four-pack.
PLUGPLAY's August 2026 numbers
Headset's August 2026 snapshot put PLUGPLAY in 566 licensed dispensaries, 459 of them in California, across California, Nevada and three other states. It tracked 161 SKUs, more than $1 million in monthly sales and an average item price of $27.56.
Vapor pens made up 99.7% of the brand's sales. Beyond the No. 4 spot in California, Headset placed PLUGPLAY No. 29 in Nevada vapor pens. Sales ran 12.8% below August 2025, with average price down 13.2%.
For adults 21 and over.