VCBC Causes Political Chaos

Hello Grace Lore

Thank you for reaching out to us.  As you know, we asked our members to contact you to express their concerns about what the NDP government is doing to the VCBC after a series of actions taken by you and your government this spring.  However, it does seem you are completely unaware of the letter of support for us sent to you by the mayor of Victoria, Marianne Alto, which was sent on June 17, 2026, as it is not referred to and you are clearly missing many points laid out in that letter.  

It seems you have a staff shortage, as the last four Thursday afternoons when we arrived there was a sign on the door stating that due to staff shortages the office had been closed or you were closed because it was the day after Canada Day.  Hopefully the next time we arrive you do not have a staff shortage again so we can meet with some of them.

Aside from that, we have not recently made a serious attempt to meet with you because the last time we tried we were told by your staff that you could not meet us because we were being raided and fined by the B.C. Solicitor General.  It has been very frustrating to us that you have not agreed to meet with us, nor have you invited us to meet in this letter.  Instead, you suggest we go meet other political representatives, as you do not appear to have much time for us or feel that there is somehow a conflict of interest if you simply meet us.

Clearly your staff are providing you with limited information on this matter. Rather than assuming you know what the problems are and what we are requesting, it would have been far better to have at least tried to make a simple phone call.  Sadly, we feel like we are just getting the “Talk to the hand” vibe from you.

While it is good that you have heard some concerns about what is happening to the VCBC, there are many aspects of this situation which you do not seem to understand, including actions taken by your provincial NDP government.  Pretending to know our concerns based on reading a few letters from constituents diminishes or ignores many problems created by the NDP government since the very beginning of the legal transition.  If you do not take the time to learn about what is unfolding and hear directly from our organization, then it is impossible for you to truly comprehend this matter.

Though the federal government legalized cannabis, the province has also introduced legislation controlling the cannabis industry and wields a great deal of power in the enforcement of those regulations.  You are either grossly misinformed, willfully ignorant, utterly incompetent, or your personal health and other family matters have distracted you so much from your work that you are completely unaware of actions being taken by the government you represent.  

To start with, the NDP government did absolutely nothing to engage with compassion clubs or anyone else operating in the cannabis industry before introducing the Cannabis Control and Licensing Act in 2018.  Instead of working with existing compassion clubs and cannabis retailers that had gone through rezoning and licensing in cities like Vancouver and Victoria, the provincial government was far more focused on setting up their own retail stores.  The lack of consultation with First Nations by both provincial and federal governments has also led to a proliferation of illegal cannabis dispensaries on reserves across the country.

When the province created these laws, the B.C. Solicitor General, Mike Farnworth, introduced a new enforcement agency, the Community Safety Unit.  No other province has developed a team dedicated to enforcing cannabis regulations, instead relying on traditional police forces to conduct raids if illegal activity is suspected.  The CSU has been given sweeping powers of search and seizure, not requiring a warrant to enter a property and begin removing materials they presume are illegal.

If you had been in attendance at the Legislature on April 3, 2023, you would have heard Farnworth explain why the province was creating amendments removing a defendant’s ability to use the Charter of Rights and Freedoms as a defense. While debating Bill 30- CANNABIS CONTROL AND LICENSING AMENDMENT ACT, Farnworth acknowledges that the reason for removing a defendant’s ability to argue any constitutional questions have…”been primarily around the medical cannabis issue…I think what it comes down to is that regardless of the merits or non-merits of a constitutional question case, the director is not the appropriate person to make that decision…The fact that there’s a lack of clarity makes it easier for someone to delay, delay, and delay and draw out the administrative adjudicative process by constantly trying to raise a constitutional issue, for example.  So what this makes clear is that the director does not have that authority.  So an applicant, if they want to pursue that, is going to have to go through a court.”  Page 11 in the debate transcripts

Far from being a strictly federal matter, the province has created the most punitive system for regulating cannabis in the country.  Farnworth systematically removed the rights of defendants to argue the Charter of Rights and Freedoms has been violated.  Then the NDP voted to make that amendment retroactive to all cases.  

So while the VCBC was able to argue constitutional issues in theory when the $3.2 million in fines were first administered, that defense was retroactively removed by this amendment.  This has not been done in any other province.  It is common practice for administrative hearings to defer to the judicial system in cases where there are unresolved constitutional questions rather than completely eliminating the ability of a defendant to argue Charter issues.

As for an exemption, the province has it within its power to grant an exemption to the regulations it created and has the power to advocate to the federal government for exemptions.  It is willpower the NDP is lacking, not authority.  

After the first two raids, the VCBC sought any political help available.  A phone call with senior cabinet minister, Murray Rankin, confirmed that the NDP was simply unwilling to support an exemption for the VCBC because they did not want to upset the relationship they were developing with the federal Liberal party.  It was conviction the NDP has been lacking, not authority.

This is a sharp contrast to the position the NDP took with INSITE, the safe injection facility in Vancouver.  In that case, the NDP did support an exemption to federal drug laws.  So again, it is a matter of lacking willpower, not authority.

Minister Farnworth even suggested the province would support the VCBC obtaining an exemption of some type in a letter responding to Victoria City council in 2020.  Unfortunately he did not clarify which sections of the regulations he thought we could get exemptions for in that letter.

Without a clear understanding of the situation, it is difficult for us to have any faith in your ability to raise our concerns with any of your political colleagues.  Indeed, it does not even appear as though you have read the letter from one of your political colleagues, the mayor of Victoria.  Given this vague response acknowledging our situation, it seems obvious to us that you have only taken a superficial glance at the information available to you.

For example, you completely ignore the fact that high dose cannabis edibles are extremely effective in reducing or eliminating the use of many prescription drugs, pain killers and opiates.  With a limit of 10 mg of THC per product, legal edible options are far too weak and expensive for many of our patients.  Many cancer patients use upwards of 1,000 mg of THC per day, something that is virtually impossible for patients trying to purchase from the legal medical cannabis program or recreational stores.

Thank you for the apology for making a video bragging about civil forfeiture but, unfortunately, it is not enough.  An offer to meet us to discuss the situation, followed by an informed apology, would have been a far better approach.  A proper apology would also be done on a video and shown to the same audience the original video was presented to.

While you did not refer to the VCBC in the video, surely you and/or your staff knew what was happening to our landlord?  There was an article in the Times Colonist on May 15, 2026, as well as coverage from several other media sources, about the province attempting to seize the building.  So, either you do not know what is happening in the community you represent and made the video, or you did not think the threat the province is making towards the VCBC is a concern to the general public and felt safe bragging about civil forfeiture.

Have you made a video about the buyout the NDP is doing for developers who made too many expensive condominiums?  How about a video explaining why the province is still allowing the clearcutting of old growth forests?  What about a video telling the public what is being done to make downtown safer?  These are matters of public interest that are far more critical than bragging about how much the province is getting from civil forfeiture.

As someone who has lost a partner to cancer, and lost many, many friends and members of the VCBC to it as well, I understand a lot about the disease and how it affects patients.  We are certainly happy for you that the medical system has helped you survive from cancer.  It is a scary disease that is becoming more common.

Just for clarity, no one is disconnected from relief yet.  That will only happen if the NDP government is successful in shutting the VCBC down, something we are firmly fighting against.  So far you have only heard from people because they fear the potential loss of access to medicine will mean they are in more pain and their lives will be cut short.  Our patients are scared for their lives because of what your government is trying to do and you may be underestimating the amount of rage that will be directed your way if the NDP successfully shuts us down.

Many of our patients have been unable to use chemotherapy or have surgery to remove the cancer that is threatening their lives.  Some of our patients have even seen tumors disappear or shrink without using any other medication than high dose THC products like our 250 mg THC suppositories.  Others that can tolerate chemotherapy, or have had surgery, benefit greatly from the pain relief, anti-nausea and relaxing effects eating and smoking cannabis provides to them.  For these patients, losing access to the products and prices we offer is literally life threatening.

No one has asked you to do anything that would interfere in what is happening with us in court.  No one expects you to be privy to the inner workings of the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General.  No one has asked you to provide information about the enforcement action taken by the CSU.

As our locally elected representative, what we do hope for is an opportunity to be heard and understood.  As our locally elected representative, you should take a keen interest in your constituent’s life and death struggles against actions being taken by the government you represent.  Protecting the lives of your constituents is not a conflict of interest, it is the primary goal of elected officials.

Rather than asking you to do something to interfere in the judicial process, what we are asking is a fair trial before being shut down permanently by provincial government employees.  As mayor Alto states in her letter, “…VCBC has made the simplest and most Canadian request – that it be given time to complete the process of a judicial review of the relevant decisions, with a pause on enforcement until that judicial review is complete. VCBC is asking for what every Canadian expects – a fair hearing, before sentence is declared and executed.”

If you had taken the time to meet with us, then you would understand what we are requesting.  Instead you are telling us that you cannot do something that we never would have asked for in the first place.  Being told no before we even had a chance to directly make a request is another example of the cold, callous attitude the NDP government has taken towards our elderly, vulnerable patients.

Clearly, this apology is unsatisfactory to us and you are offering no resolution at all, in the short or long term.  If you consider sending a form letter sent out to the VCBC, and those who wrote in support of us, to in any way be a resolution, then you are delusional. We were not asking for a resolution from you, we were just hoping you would hear our concerns and help us have a fair trial.

As we mentioned, we believe strongly in the judicial system and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.  Pretending we want you to apply political pressure to the courts misrepresents our position.  What we are requesting is simply that we get that day in court before the club is shut down with administrative procedures, fines, raids and civil forfeiture.

It is ironic to hear you say that you are not wanting to apply political pressure to independent offices.  You have already told us that you have brought our concerns up with the current Solicitor General, Nina Krieger, though we assume that the issues you raised were different from the concerns we actually have.  So it appears that you really can apply influence on the Minister of Public Safety and her team, even if it is limited.

The CSU is obviously able to apply constraint when they want to.  While we have been raided 4 times since legalization, they could have come here much more than that.  Historically, the Victoria Police Department did not raid the club for the last 15 years of prohibition, so there has been an understanding in the law enforcement community that our patients have been protected by the courts and the Charter.

If political pressure does not affect independent offices, then how do you explain why the cannabis store operating outside of the regulatory system two blocks away from the VCBC has never been raided by the CSU?  Just around the corner from the club, the Society of Living Intravenous Drug Users, SOLID, has formed 4 Directions, a non-profit cannabis distributor that also sells products outside of the legal system.  The main difference between the two cannabis distributors is that instead of requiring a medical document like the VCBC, they only ask people to sign a form stating that they are purchasing from 4 Directions to avoid buying drugs on the street.

Another major difference between the two groups is that the VCBC has never received any government funding from any level.  On the other hand, SOLID has built up a range of programs over the years using government funds to support services and buy buildings, like the one housing the illegal cannabis store now run by 4 Directions.  It is infuriating to have the province seizing property from a hard-working landlord to punish a long-standing compassion club helping patients, while blocks away another similar non-profit carries on with political impunity.

We have attempted to meet with our local MP, Will Greaves, but he has refused to meet with us directly, instead getting his staff to have a zoom meeting with us and send him some notes.  That is more than you have done for us but still frustrating.  Of course, his staff’s response is that the CSU and the enforcement actions we are facing are within the authority of the province, but they will take our concerns about the federal medical cannabis program to Mr. Greaves and Health Canada.

The federal Minister for Public Safety and federal Minister of Justice have absolutely nothing to do with this matter.  On one hand, you proclaim this is a federal matter and refer us to federal politicians.  But on the other hand, you admit you have spoken about us to the BC Solicitor General and her team because you know they are behind these enforcement actions.

If you understood the situation you would actually be referring us to the federal Minister for Health Canada.  As you state, Health Canada is the body responsible for designing the federal medical cannabis program.  Health Canada should be the focus of our advocacy more than the federal Ministers for Public Safety or Justice.  

While this long response might sound angry, we are a group of kind, loving people just trying to help others.  We would appreciate having a chance to explain face-to-face what is happening and how you could help us.  Even better, we would really love to show you the VCBC, share some tea and give you a chance to really understand who we are and what we are doing.  

Though we are deeply distressed at the humanitarian crisis being created by your government, our conviction in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms has kept us standing strong.  We hope that rather than be dismissive and minimize our issues, you take this situation seriously and learn more about why we are resisting converting to the legal system.  Working together we can turn this around and make the legal medical cannabis program function in the best interest of our patients.

Sincerely,

Ted Smith