On October 1, 2012, the VCBC was transitioned to a nonprofit society by its founder and longtime activist Ted Smith.
The VCBC provides an essential service to the community, offering a safe space for its members to gather and medicate in, as well as engage in advocacy work.
What makes us different from other non-profit organizations is that, because of the illegality of our activities, we don’t have access to the types of funding available to other such organizations, so our activities are funded through revenues generated from the sale of products to our membership.
Through the years, the demographic we serve and their needs have been continually shifting as public attitudes toward cannabis as medicine has changed (in no small part due to the efforts of our group and others like us across the country and around the world). To help navigate these changes and fully utilize the vast experience our members have, our elected Board of Directors oversees various operations of the club.
Important Points About the VCBC Board of Directors
- Our Board of Directors is legally liable for the Victoria Cannabis Buyers Club.
- All board members are elected at our annual AGM the board members decide amongst themselves what roles to fill.
- You do not need to be a member of the club to be a Board member.
- Only members of the VCBC can vote in the AGM election for board members.
- A volunteer position with a two-year term, our current and past board members work with our General Manager, staff, and members.
When Ted Smith created the VCBC, he modeled it after the San Francisco Cannabis Buyers Club, which was founded by Dennis Peron, Brownie Mary Rathbun, and Tod H. Mikuriya, among others. They did much more than sell medicine to the many people who were ill with AIDS in San Francisco at the time; they provided “a community for those people to heal themselves in”.
It could be said that this society was just as medicinal as the medicine they all shared a need for; at the VCBC, both the Board of Directors and staff try to emulate this in everything we do.
You can reach our Board of Directors by sending an email to hellovcbc@gmail.com. Please include, “For the Board” in the subject line.