Tag Archives: Edibles

Access to Edibles

Cannabis Dispensary, Uncategorized

Dear Members,

We regret to inform you that effective immediately, we must cease distribution of some forms of edibles from our menu.

The City of Vancouver has stipulated in order to comply with their new medical marijuana-related business licensing policies and to keep our doors open, “all edibles, except for oils, tinctures and capsules, are no longer permitted to be sold”.

As such, we can still offer a variety of beautiful infusions, and our staff will provide all the support needed to empower your self-titration as you adjust your dosage and find effective relief while switching to a new product.

As always, we are honoured to provide any member who needs guidance or support regarding dosaging, titration, recipes, or any other questions you may have about your medicine.

We acknowledge this regulation does not comply with the recent Supreme Court ruling, declaring all medical cannabis products to be legal for patients to use; however we are compelled to comply with the city’s requirement. We are working with them to find a way to stay in our current location, keep our doors open and to continue to provide you with the wide variety of healthcare services we are currently offering.

Thank you all for your continued support during this time. We love you!

In Solidarity,
All BCCCS Staff and Board

Supreme Court Validates Compassion Club Practices

Cannabis Dispensary, Press Release

The British Columbia Compassion Club (BCCCS) today announced their support of the Supreme Court of Canada ruling in the R v Smith case concerning edible cannabis medicine.

“This is yet one more case that shows why Compassion Clubs exist,” said Jamie Shaw, a spokesperson with the group. “Dispensaries have consistently had charges against them dropped; growers have consistently been granted discharges; and our reasons for civil disobedience have been constantly validated by the courts,” she said.

In the case of R v Smith the Supreme Court found that the ‘effects of prohibition contradict the objective of public health and safety’, and that ‘by forcing a person to choose between a legal but inadequate treatment and an illegal but more effective one, the law also infringes security of the person.‘

The ruling also states that liberty is limited ‘by foreclosing reasonable medical choices through the threat of criminal prosecution‘. Shaw believes that the same holds true for patients who are forced to choose between the legal, but inadequate Health Canada program, and the illegal effective dispensaries.

“These three findings perfectly encapsulate why we exist, an,” Shaw said, adding “We sincerely hope that these findings are applied to the issue of access as well, so that, patients are no longer forced to choose between the inadequate but legal Health Canada program or illegal dispensaries that provide education, support and other services.

“We’ve been doing this a long time, and we’ve been doing it with both patients and public safety in mind. The courts recognized that back in 2001, and we’ve only gotten better at it since then,” Shaw said.

She expressed disappointment that the court didn’t accept Mr. Tousaw’s suggestion to simply remove cannabis from the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.

“It means we won’t be seeing any clarity any time soon.” Shaw said, “It may be some time before workable, constitutional regulations are developed by Health Canada.”

Shaw also points out that the ruling refers to patients with ‘medical authorization’ and that this isn’t the same language as the ‘medical document’ referred to in the MMPR, adding she would like to see some further clarity about what is considered ‘medical authorization’ in the eyes of the courts.

The BC Compassion Club is a non-profit organization founded in 1997. It is the longest-running dispensary in North America.

Media contact: Jamie Shaw jamie[at]thecompassionclub.org

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