Vancouver

Law Enforcement

An ounce or less often meant losing the bag and going on your way. Sometimes there was a ticket. Scales or empty bags could make officers think trafficking, and a couple of kilos in a see-through backpack were a different story. Near the station downtown it often felt like traffic mattered more to police than a cloud of B.C. Bud. Public smoking still drew attention, and locals were clear about leaving the weed on the Canadian side of the border.

Rules on adult personal possession have changed since these accounts. See Marijuana Laws.

Where to Buy Marijuana

West Hastings was the familiar stretch, with coffee shops, head shops and taverns around the New Amsterdam Café and the B.C. Marijuana Party Bookstore. Blunt Brothers had burned down a few years before one October 2007 visit. The New Amsterdam was a place to bring a smoke and meet people. Café staff were clear that they didn’t sell weed.

One of the old stories was about the stairs to the left of the café before seven. Upstairs, people waited on a white line across the carpet and gave the guy at the desk a budget: C$20, C$40, C$60, C$80 or C$100. Street sellers were said to repackage some of that same bud at a markup. Other stories involved word-of-mouth home dealers and shops where you needed a password. Granville, Chinatown, beaches, parks and nearby Surrey all came up. An offer on the street could be great bud, poor weed or a disappearing act with the money.

Marijuana Prices

• C$25–30 for an eighth-ounce
• C$50–65 for a quarter-ounce
• C$80–150 for a half-ounce, depending on strain and quality
• C$220–300 for an ounce
• Another account gave C$10 for a gram.

Types of Marijuana

Lemon Hashplant, OG Kush, Master Kush, Orange Kush, Purple Kush, purple indica and plain old B.C. big buds all turned up. The variety was the point. A good contact often had at least three options and let you get a proper look before buying.

More Information

B.C. had smokers from every walk of life, right down to the local cops if you believed the jokes. Vancouver Island outdoor got a lot of praise around the fall harvest. Winter indoor was said to be more plentiful, with seasonal differences in price. Around Hastings, the park opposite the head shops had a reputation for plainclothes officers.

At the New Amsterdam, you could get a coffee and roll a joint; tobacco went in the separate glass room. Other Vancouver stops in those days included a Chinatown meal, a walk or morning jog in Stanley Park, a double-decker sightseeing bus, Miss Cleo’s for a massage and the Hostelling International hostel with its kitchen, laundry and lounge. Strong bud could leave some people paranoid. The old account included speculation about alcohol, exercise and a 2007 report on lab research. None of that established a remedy for anxiety or a health benefit from smoking.

October 2008 was a lesson in how hit-or-miss Vancouver could be. About twenty conversations at first led nowhere. A friendly night manager sent a visitor to a bartender who made a couple of calls without luck. The next day, near West Hastings and Cambie, three men with two joints returned a greeting in English. Mohamed shared half a Diesel joint. Over at the head shop it was fine to photograph the place after asking, just keep the customers out of the shot. The sign about buying weed was emphatic: don’t ask. Inside the café, tables were covered in fat joints, and somebody explained that asking for a hit was considered bad form. “Vancouver is NO FUCKING AMSTERDAM.”

Then, while trying to take a picture outside around 4:20 p.m., the same visitor started talking hockey with George from Ontario. George offered to find 12.5 g for C$100, on the condition that they share a smoke and a bud. He left his wallet and ID, then came back on the other side of Cambie with a rolled newspaper. The bud smelled like coconut from three feet away. Well dried, crystalline and a “95” out of 100. Two carrot juices and a fatty later, a grower at the next table swapped a kief joint. Even George was floored. After giving him roughly 1.5 g, there was about 11 g left for the C$100.

Three days before leaving, a chance encounter at the seed shop on East Hastings led to the Cambie Hostel and Bar. Roman and a friend from Florida had four hours in town. Five minutes later there was an eighth for C$40 and two C$10 bags that weighed 0.8 g each. The 3.5 g eighth was said to be the same bud, at a higher price. The ATM ate the visitor’s card. The Floridians covered the C$40 after getting a ride across town, even when offered the bag or a money order in return.

At Vancouver airport the visit ended at US preclearance, with two half-litre beers downed in five minutes after an early smoke. The city was beautiful, with plenty to do and good people once you found them. Buying weed still felt very different from Amsterdam.

Across Canada, it was generally called “pot.” A single little paper with weed and no tobacco was the usual Canadian roll in these stories. A hitchhiker might meet a prairie farmer or a businessman with a bag under the seat, offering a joint and some for the road. The Okanagan and the beaches around Penticton came up as often as Vancouver, with Toronto another easy city by reputation. In the countryside, a friendly introduction mattered more, and the weed could turn out to be shake.