Legal Politics

City of Victoria Second Letter of Support for the VCBC

We are very thankful to have received our second letter of support from the City of Victoria, written and signed by Mayor Lisa Helps.

The VCBC was raided by the BC CSU in November, 2019.  In January 2020, the City of Victoria wrote their initial letter of support to the BC Solicitor General, Mike Farnworth, asking for a cease to the disciplinary actions against the VCBC for supplying medicine to patients. This letter outlined the VCBC’s need for an exemption from the Cannabis Act and expressed the city’s support for our organization.  The city is unanimous in their support of finding a pathway for the VCBC to be grandfathered into the legal system in a way that guarantees patients access to affordable and high quality cannabis medicine.

In August 2020, we finally received a response from the province, several weeks after their second raid of our store in July 2020. Mike Farnworth, Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General, finally responded to the city’s plea for an exemption for our longstanding club. He outlined the provincial limits on legislating medical cannabis and expressed that he would reach out to his federal counterparts. He directed the city to write to the federal government, who holds authority over the medical side of the legal cannabis industry. 

The letter we received this week, is the City of Victoria’s most recent letter of support for the VCBC to continue operating the way we have been for 24 years. Victoria City Council is on our side in urging Health Canada to work with us to find a pathway to legalization that meets the needs of the patients who rely on us.