For Immediate Release
Victoria Cannabis Buyers Club Marks 30 Years Of Illegal Compassion
Saturday, January 24, 2026
Victoria, B.C.: Against all odds, the Victoria Cannabis Buyers Club will be celebrating 30 years of providing cannabis products to patients on Sunday January 25th. The celebration is open to friends and members, young and old, and will feature a potluck followed by a talent show and fire spinning with DJs playing in the background. It is being held at the Fernwood Community Center at 1240 Gladstone Avenue from 4 to 11 pm.
Despite 8 raids, millions of dollars in fines, pandemics, evictions, too many deaths to want to remember, staff meltdowns and insurrections, board resignations, insurance scares, lawsuits, bylaw officers, Island Health officials, Worksafe inspections, Canada Revenue Agency investigations, and, of course, several snowstorms, the VCBC has remained open every day possible for 30 years. Along the way, the VCBC has fought all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada, winning a unanimous decision in 2015 that made cannabis edible and extracts legal for patients in the medical cannabis program.
The VCBC is not only the first medical compassion club to operate in Canada, but it now also appears to be the last. The legal medical cannabis program does not allow for storefront access or high dosage edibles, and every compassion club in the country has been shut down by the government or closed out of fear. Since legalization the VCBC has been raided 3 times and faces fines of $3.2 million.
With over 9,000 patients served over 30 years, the VCBC has become a pillar in Victoria and in the history of cannabis in Canada. Starting with a pager and a pamphlet while living in a van, founder Ted Smith has witnessed an incredible transformation in the club and in Canadian society over these three decades. With such a rich history of patient advocacy and deep connections in the industry, the VCBC anticipates the next 30 years will be even more amazing.
For more information contact Ted Smith at 250-415-1063 or hellovcbc@gmail.com.
