LINK TO THE PETITION
At the request of the Victoria Cannabis Buyers Club, the Green Party of Canada has started a petition to ask Health Canada to help form the B.C. College of Medical Cannabis Dispensers and to conduct research into high dose edibles. Still in the early stages of development, the B.C. College of Medical Cannabis Dispensers will seek to gain authorization to certify individuals to give advice on the medical use of cannabis and sign patients up to the federal medical cannabis program. The petition will be entered into the House of Commons in Ottawa in November 2026 by federal Green Party leader, Elizabeth May, where she will be accompanied by VCBC founder, Ted Smith.
Cannabis retailers across the country are expected to assist in the collection of signatures. Currently cannabis retailers are unable to provide medical advice without having a pharmacist, nurse practitioner or doctor physically onsite. Millions of people using cannabis for medical purposes currently purchase at legal retail stores where they are unable to get any advice about how to use cannabis as a medicine or any information about potential drug interactions. Once able to hire certified cannabis dispensers, retail stores will be able to dramatically improve patients health outcomes, which will increase sales.
The B.C. College of Medical Cannabis Dispensers is a recent project of the Victoria Cannabis Buyers Club as it attempts to transition into the legal system without compromising its primary functions. By giving birth to this institution, the VCBC intends to formalize the responsibilities of a budtender in a compassion club into a medical professional that sits somewhere between a nurse, doctor, herbalist and pharmacist. To get this project off the ground, 14 different stakeholder groups ranging from doctors and researchers, to First Nations and compassion clubs, will work together to generate educational material and standardize how patients learn about how to use cannabis as medicine.
A link to the Strategic Plan of the B.C. College of Medical Cannabis Dispensers can be found on the Cannabis Digest website, along with a link to the petition. Additionally, the petition requests Health Canada begin seriously studying the benefits of high dose edibles for patients in persistent, chronic pain and/or fighting cancer. Current THC limits on legal edibles are 10 mg, which is very low for patients requiring up to 1,000 mg THC per day to fight cancer and/or avoid opiate drugs. Patients at the VCBC have been safely and effectively using high dose edibles for decades, with many finding relief from their symptoms they cannot get from other drugs.
The petition is available to download on the Green Party of Canada website. Individuals interested in collecting signatures should print a copy of the first page with the full declaration, which can be followed by multiple pages of the second page that has much more room for signatures. Petitions can be printed on both sides.
Please send petitions directly to Elizabeth May’s office by November , postage free.
Elizabeth May, M.P.
House of Commons
Ottawa, ON Ottawa, ON
K1A 0A6
LINK TO THE PETITION
Here is the text of the petition.
Petition to the Government of Canada
Whereas: The Cannabis Act currently restricts medical cannabis access strictly to mail-order delivery from licensed producers, excluding physical medical dispensaries and compassion clubs;
Whereas, thousands of low-income, chronically ill, and end-of-life patients relied on storefront compassion clubs like the Victoria Cannabis Buyers Club (VCBC) for advice and affordable cannabis products before legalization, though the VCBC is one of the last surviving;
Whereas, the legal 10 mg THC cap on edible products renders required medical doses prohibitively expensive and impractical for patients managing severe, high-tolerance medical conditions;
Whereas, millions of Canadians using cannabis for medical purposes purchase from legal recreational stores that cannot provide any medical advice.
We, the undersigned citizens and residents of Canada, call upon the Government of Canada to:
- Work with the B.C. College of Medical Cannabis Dispensers to establish a certification program for providing advice on the medical uses of cannabis.
- Support research into high dose, full-spectrum cannabis extracts for patients in the federal medical cannabis program
- Add certified medical cannabis dispensers to the list of professionals authorized to sign patients into the federal medical cannabis program.
