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Provincial officers raided the Victoria Cannabis Buyers Club Wednesday, seizing more than $50,000 in product from the unlicensed, non-profit dispensary.
About 10:45 a.m., officers with the province’s Community Safety Unit, which is responsible for enforcing cannabis regulations, arrived at the Johnson Street storefront, said club founder Ted Smith. It’s the second raid the club has faced in less than a year. On Nov. 14, 2019, officers seized about $25,000 in cannabis products.
The club had been anticipating the first raid — for months, Smith spent the first 10 minutes of his day standing outside the door waiting for officers to arrive — but Wednesday’s action came as a surprise.
“We had thought there would be different punitive actions taken, like the fine, for example, but they chose this course of action instead, obviously. So, this one has kind of rattled the staff and the members a little bit more than the first one,” Smith said.
The province has a year to determine and issue a fine following a raid, based on the amount of product seized, but the club has not yet received a fine from the November 2019 raid.
The club requires prospective members to provide proof of a chronic condition with a doctor’s signature and has grown to more than 8,000 members since opening in 1996.
Smith described his customers as “typically elder, with multiple problems,” using cannabis to treat issues such as cancer, diabetes, arthritis, chronic pain and mental-health problems. “I’m helping people who are suffering who wouldn’t know what to do if I wasn’t there for them,” Smith said.
The cannabis club reopened at 4:20 p.m. Thursday, after about 50 people gathered for a rally at the legislature to protest the province’s raid.
Smith said club members are worried about losing access to the products they rely on with the threat of more raids looming.
Smith is driven to keep the club running despite the threat of raids, because the legal medical cannabis system — which is regulated by the federal government and is available through online orders — isn’t accessible or affordable to his clients, he said.
“We have a lot of little old ladies that come in here for the cookies. They’re not savvy enough to be doing mail orders,” Smith said.
Legal cannabis is also too expensive and not high quality, Smith said, and there’s no help provided to determine the best products for treatment.
The club is seeking a temporary exemption from B.C.’s cannabis regulations while it advocates for changes to the rules governing the production and sale of medical cannabis. In January, Victoria city council passed a motion supporting the club’s request for exemption from the province.
In an email to Smith in May, B.C.’s cannabis legalization and regulation secretariat Mary Shaw said the province would not authorize sales of cannabis that are illegal under federal law.
She encouraged Smith to share his concerns with Health Canada.
Smith said he reached out to the province because they represent the enforcement branch.
He plans to return to city council to ask for support approaching the federal government for an exemption.
A spokesman for the Community Safety Unit said the province could not comment on Wednesday’s raid, because it’s an active case.
“Our goal from the start has been voluntary compliance. However, those who continue to operate illegally should be warned that if they do not obtain a provincial licence they will have to close or will face increased enforcement action from the CSU,” Ian Indridson said in an email.
regan-elliott@timescolonist.com