Members of the Victoria Cannabis Buyers Club were relieved Tuesday to learn the club’s landlord had agreed to renew the lease for the Johnson Street storefront, despite a letter from the province threatening fines and potential jail time.
The club, which sells a range of cannabis products at higher doses than what is available through the legal system and at lower prices, has operated out of its current location for 20 years and was facing eviction at the end of March. In early February, the province’s unit responsible for enforcing cannabis regulations sent a letter to the club’s landlord, Skipper Properties Ltd., warning of steep fines and possible jail time if they renewed the lease.
Founder Ted Smith said he was stunned when he found out last week the landlord would sign a three-year lease with the club.
“People are so happy. People have been worried for their lives at times,” he said. “It’s been extremely stressful. I’ve heard from a lot of people in distress, out of fear of not knowing where to go and what to do, if we’re not here for them.”
Before the landlord’s change of heart, Smith was planning to set up a tent at Victoria City Hall to continue serving the club’s more than 8,000 members, whom he describes as mostly older people who are using cannabis to deal with issues such as cancer, diabetes, arthritis, chronic pain and mental-health problems.
Unlike recreational dispensaries, the unlicensed club requires prospective members to provide proof of a chronic condition with a doctor’s signature.
Nikki Jackson, a patient of the club since 2012 and communications officer for the past two years, said she cried tears of relief for herself and other members when she heard the club was no longer facing eviction.
She credits the club’s products with helping her manage digestive issues that she says nearly killed her as a teenager. She made the switch from more than a dozen pharmaceutical medications to cannabis products from the club after a manic episode.
“It’s the only form of medicine that I use now throughout any type of injury, pain, anxiety, digestive issues. I use it for all of my day-to-day life things. I really can’t function without it,” Jackson said.
She consumes high-dose edibles that are not available through the legal system, which sets a limit of no more than 10 milligrams of THC per unit.
The renewed lease brings relief, but it doesn’t mean the club is out of the woods, Jackson said.
The club has been working on an application to Health Canada requesting an exemption from Canada’s Cannabis Act to allow the non-profit to continue providing high-dose and low-cost products without the threat of raids.
Health Canada regulates the sale of medical cannabis and prohibits storefront sales, while the province regulates non-medical cannabis sales.
Provincial officers have raided the club twice since the legalization of cannabis, seizing a total of about $60,000 in product. In February, the Community Safety Unit, responsible for enforcing provincial cannabis regulations, changed tack, sending a letter to the club’s landlord.
The letter said it’s an offence to allow the building to be used for the sale of cannabis without a provincial licence, and violations carry a penalty of up to $50,000 in fines and up to a year in jail.
Smith argues the club doesn’t need a provincial licence, because it sells medical cannabis, which falls under federal jurisdiction.
Both Victoria city council and Mike Farnworth, minister of public safety and solicitor general, have shown some support for a federal exemption for the club.
A spokesperson for Health Canada previously said the federal regulator may authorize an exemption from the Cannabis Act in “rare and exceptional circumstances” if the exemption is necessary for a medical or scientific purpose or is otherwise in the public interest. Exemption applications are assessed on a case-by-case basis.
regan-elliott@timescolonist.com
