For Immediate Release
Thurs April 7, 2022
Victoria, B.C.: After over two years of being shut down due to COVID, the Victoria Cannabis Buyers Club will be re-opening its smoking lounge to membners on Friday April 8 when vaccine restrictions are lifted across the province. With over 8,500 members, the VCBC is one of the largest and most active non-profit societies in downtown Victoria. Ironically, the Province of BC just launched a questionnaire to the public about recreational cannabis consumption spaces, something that should have started long before it was legally for sale but smoking lounges are not an option. .
The fight to keep the Box open is another victory for the VCBC, as Worksafe BC and Island Health have tried to shut it down in the past. Arguing that patients have constitutional protection to use their medicine and that the Box is not a public space but a private medical facility, the VCBC has been able to stand its ground to protect patients that need a safe, relaxing space to use their medicine. A study on the Box is being conducted by University of Victoria researcher Dr Marilou Gagnon and the results of that will be made available to the public as soon as possible.
On the other hand, the so-called survey by the BC Solicitor General is another example of the terrible regulations bureaucrats create that politicians must somehow defend. Not allowing indoor cannabis smoking and vaping to be discussed at all shows how little regard the province has for the safety and well-being of cannabis consumers and the public. Only allowing rural production facilities to have outdoor smoking lounges may help some producers with the capacity to develop that business. However, for the vast majority of cannabis consumers that smoke in large cities like Victoria and Vancouver, these changes are meaningless and it is insulting to call this consultation if there is no room to debate what most citizens want.
For more information contact Ted Smith at 250-415-1063 or hellovcbc@gmail.com.
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