Victoria

Law Enforcement

Before legalization, getting caught smoking publicly in Victoria might mean losing the pot, getting searched and being told to take it indoors. Some officers barely paid attention. Others could give you an earful, especially if you sounded American. “Mall cops but with guns” was one verdict.

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

Where to Buy Marijuana

Around the University of Victoria, even somebody with red eyes who smelled like skunk might be offended you asked. The campus had so many rabbits that you stood a better chance of coming home with a pet bunny than a gram of hash. Vancouver felt easier to some visitors. The head shop they found in Victoria struck them as overpriced, though the younger drinking age and the absinthe softened the blow.

Marijuana Prices

Premium local flower was quoted at about C$150–200 for 28 g, an ounce. It had a reputation for being potent.

More Information

To its fans, Victoria was the land of stoner splendour. Its corner of Vancouver Island sat close to quiet islands like Salt Spring, Mayne and Texada. There were smokers from Mile Zero up past City Hall, in parks, car parks, apartments and on corners. The joke about exported B.C. Bud was that the stuff shipped out was what locals hadn’t wanted for their glass pipes or cookies. A passerby might just smile and ask for a puff.

Victoria was a port city with plenty for the munchies: tapi maki, curry, escargot, falafel, a good burger. There were accounts of people taking a puff while waiting on a patio.

Wednesdays at 4:20 p.m., a friendly campus gathering brought hundreds of people and a bit of gossip and herb. The evening Hempology meetings downtown were bigger. Ted would speak through a loudspeaker about whatever was on that week. The crowd waited to hear the weight of the giant joints rolled from old roaches. Dan was usually around with glass pipes in just about every shape, size and colour.

Other visitors called it a grandma town. Two people spent 48 hours without finding weed and made do with a bottle of absinthe. The botanical garden was beautiful, the seafood was plentiful and the Christmas lights were still on in March. After being lectured about American energy use, the lights were particularly hard to miss. To them, the island crowd felt hostile and Vancouver was the better trip, apart from the way it treated people living on the street.