The Victoria Cannabis Buyers Club of Canada started helping people with incurable physical medical conditions by providing them with medical marijuana and products made from cannabis in january 1996. Through name changes and the shift to a non-profit our mandate and commitment to our members has remained the same. The VCBC is the oldest ‘compassion club’ n canada with over 3500 active members.

On April 1st 2001, the club opened its first storefront location in downtown Victoria on Johnson’s street. Over ten years later this remains our current home.

Our second club was opened in late july 2002 in Halifax, N.S. Unfortunately in 2012 the founder of the Halifax branch was forced to close his location due to medical reasons.

In January 2002, we suffered a raid by police which was followed by raids in March, June, and finally February 2003. All 11 charges of trafficking laid following these raids were dropped, acquitted, or turned over in the Court of Appeal.

In December 2009, the Victoria Cannabis Buyers Club bakery was raided by police. Following the constitutional challenge by the club, Justice Robert Johnston concluded that the section in Health Canada’s Marijuana Medical Access Regulations (MMAR) restricting recipients to using only the dried form of the drug is unconstitutional as it breaches the Charter of Rights section guaranteeing ‘life, liberty, and security of the person.’
As of October 1st 2012, the Victoria Cannabis Buyers club was transitioned to a non profit by its founder and long time activist Ted Smith.