On March 24th, 2020, The Victoria Cannabis Buyers Club shut their doors, closing the club for the first time in 19 years. In the midst of a global pandemic, measures need to be taken to ensure the safety of our society and the VCBC takes no exception.
From now on:
- Hours of operation have changed to Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays only, from 10am to 7pm
- They will extend their Wednesday hours from 9am to 9pm once a month, to accommodate those on social assistance.
- All signups for new members are taking place by appointment, over the phone, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday; but, no purchasing will take place on those days.
The Victoria Cannabis Buyers Club began in the back of a van and has been in operation for 24 years, in its current location for the last 19. It has survived through six police raids and two armed robberies; persevering to provide critical medicine for the critically ill. They have fought for the right to help those who ask for it; providing medical cannabis and cannabis products for people who suffer from incurable conditions.
If you ask any staff member, they will tell you that the VCBC is open 365 days a year, including Christmas Day. The only time the club is closed is once a year, for two hours; in order to allow for all the staff to attend the Annual General Meeting. Why? Medical conditions and the symptoms they cause don’t take days off. High quality, medical cannabis access is an essential, life saving service and the VCBC takes that responsibility very seriously. Regardless, in this time of crisis, extreme measures must be taken. For members, purchasing medicine is going to be different.
Ted Smith released a statement about the new policy, now in effect, “We will now only be allowing two members into the club at once, one for each till. There will be chalk marks on the street to help keep our members waiting a safe distance from each other. Hopefully we will not have to limit our hours more but we will continue to monitor what is happening inside and outside our organization. We will try to give as much warning as possible if further changes are made. We really appreciate everyone’s patience with us as we get through these trying times. We are doing everything possible to keep our staff and members healthy and safe through this stressful situation.”
