For Immediate Release
Friday April 16, 2021
Victoria Cannabis Buyers Club Applies for Exemption from Health Canada
Victoria, B.C.: After standing its ground against raids and other threats to shut it down, the
Victoria Cannabis Buyers Club, with the support of its legal counsel at JFK Law Corporation,
has filed its exemption application to Health Canada. This massive 727-page document
contains letters of support from elected politicians, non-profit societies, doctors, VCBC
members, industry representatives, and academics. A link to the exemption application is
provided here.
The VCBC has been providing low-barrier, high-quality medical cannabis to patients who need it
most since 1996. Parts of the federal Cannabis Act and the regulations under it create
significant barriers to the VCBC continuing its operations. With this application, the VCBC has
begun the process of coming into compliance with the federal regime by seeking both temporary
and permanent exemptions to ensure it can continue serving its members’ needs while it works
toward obtaining licenses for its operations. The federal government has the authority to grant
exemptions based on medical or scientific necessity or for public interest reasons.
Given the depth and strength of the public’s support for the VCBC, there should be no question
that assisting the Club to transition into the legal system without major interruptions to members
is in the public interest. Letters from Victoria City Council and MPs Laurel Collins and Paul
Manly emphasize the need for the VCBC to continue operating. Letters of support from
hundreds of patients (which have been removed from the publicly available documents to
protect the privacy of their medical information) vividly illustrate the positive benefits of the
VCBC’s products and how devastating the loss of the Club would be for them.
Courts have found that access to medical cannabis engages the liberty and security of the
person rights protected by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Limiting access to
medical cannabis risks violating the Charter rights of our members and seriously harming their
well-being. Further, the tragic opioid crisis gripping our province continues to escalate, with
record death tolls every month. Access to high-potency, low-cost cannabis products can help
prevent overdose deaths and improve health outcomes, as our members can attest, and as
studies from UBC and other researchers demonstrate.
There are compelling, urgent reasons to ensure the VCBC can continue to provide lifesaving
access to medical cannabis in a safe and supportive community setting. We look forward to
working with Health Canada to ensure that objective is achieved.
For more information
Ted Smith, VCBC Executive Director, 250-415-1063
