A large moving party is being planned to bring the cannabis products, supplies and paperwork from where the Victoria Cannabis Buyers Club has operated for almost 22 years to its new home. After being based on Johnson St. since 1996, the VCBC is moving a few blocks away to the corner of Quadra St. and Balmoral St. on February 28, 2023. New landlords at 826 Johnson St. evicted the non-profit society late last year, initially giving the club just weeks to move over the Christmas Holiday.
So many members and supporters have offered help moving, that the club has decided to create a walking caravan of carts, wagons, trailers, and dollies to transfer most of the group’s belongings. With only one set of street lights between the two spaces, it will only take helpers a few minutes to walk a couple of blocks dragging a load of stuff with them. This will include as many people as possible in the operation, showing the depth of our community while giving members an opportunity to be involved in this historic move. We will secure trucks for moving big equipment and we need volunteers to help walk packed boxes to our new location.
- Monday February 27th the store will be open for sales on at 826 Johnson St
from 10am to 7pm - Tuesday February 28th the VCBC will be closed all day to move the store. The moving caravan starts from the VCBC at 2 pm.
- Wednesday March 1st we will reopen for sales at 10am at our new location 1625 Quadra, the space has accessible street parking with free 1 hour parking restrictions.
Originally started in a van with a pager and a pamphlet, the VCBC moved into an apartment on Johnson St. a few months later in the spring of 1996, where it stayed for its first 5 years. In 2001 the club moved to 826 Johnson St, where many treasured memories and friendships have grown, including a fight to the Supreme Court of Canada in 2015 that made cannabis edibles and extracts legal for patients. It will be an emotional day for many to leave the Johnson St. location.
One door closes and another opens.
Though we are sad to be leaving a funky heritage building in the downtown core, we are very happy with the new location and landlord. Located on the corner of Quadra St. and Balmoral St., many will be familiar with the building from when The Green Ceiling and CannaMall were there a few years ago. The VCBC will be based at the very back of the building, with a door facing Balmoral St. Eventually we will be applying for a separate address of 921 Balmoral St so we will be easier to find on Google.
For more information please contact Ted Smith at 250-415-1063 or hellovcbc@gmail.com.
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