Part two of Cannabis in Canada Founding Director Jason Wilcox’s conversation with Ted Smith, founder and owner of the Victoria Cannabis Buyer’s Club, and a longtime advocate for cannabis users and growers rights.
[See part one here.]In part two of this engaging conversation, Jason and Ted get more in-depth into Owen Smith’s 2009 arrest and trial for producing a variety of editable products and cannabis extractions for the Cannabis Buyers’ Clubs of BC, in order to help medical patients alleviate suffering due to various illnesses.
In August of 2014 the Court of Appeal for British Columbia had issued a 2-1 decision in favour of the defense, in which the province’s highest court gave the federal government one year to change its regulations to permit the purchase of cannabis extracts. The 2-1 split decision does, however, allowed for the government to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada.
Ted outlines his intimate involvement in the case, as well as that of esteemed lawyers Kirk Tousaw and John Conroy. This is an exclusive look into the machinations of one of the most important cases in the history of cannabis prohibition, from a key participant who was “in the room” during the entire process.
Ted also discusses the specifics of the benefits of extracts, and his thoughts on the future of cannabis culture in Canada, including Health Canada’s role, LPs, and private gardens.