Cannabis in Vancouver

Legal age

19+ (two pieces of ID may be requested)

Purchase / public possession

30 g dried or equivalent; 1,000 g per household at home

Tax

5% GST + 7% PST on top of federal excise duty in the shelf price

Delivery

Yes — licensed stores within B.C.; BC Cannabis Stores ships by Canada Post

Parks and beaches

Smoking and vaping banned in all Park Board parks and beaches; fines from $250

Lounges

No licensed consumption lounges

There is no government BC Cannabis Store inside the City of Vancouver. The province's own chain lists its nearest locations in North Vancouver and Burnaby, so every storefront you walk into in Vancouver proper is privately owned. Vancouver also licenses stores separately from the province, which shapes where they can open.

Two licenses, one 300-metre rule

A Vancouver store needs a provincial LCRB licence and a City of Vancouver business licence, plus a development permit that goes through public notification. City rules require stores to be in commercial zones and at least 300 m from schools, community centres and other cannabis stores. That spacing is why Vancouver has fewer stores per street than Toronto, and why they spread along long arterials instead of bunching up. Vancouver licensed medical dispensaries back in 2015, before legalization, which is why some store names date from that era.

Where the licensed stores are

From the LCRB establishment list (87 open stores with a Vancouver address, checked September 23, 2026):

By postal area, downtown V6B and V5N (Grandview–Woodland/Commercial Drive) have 8 stores each.

Vancouver stores with full Verdex profiles

14 Vancouver sellers have full profiles, including City Cannabis Co. on Robson Street, Muse Cannabis in the West End and South Granville, the discount chain Value Buds, and Burb Cannabis. Province-wide rules and other B.C. cities are on the British Columbia hub; first-timers can read our guide to ID, payment and what to ask.

Where is it legal to smoke in Vancouver?

Less of the city than visitors expect. The Vancouver Park Board has banned smoking and vaping, including cannabis, in all its parks and beaches since 2010, so Stanley Park and Kits Beach are off-limits. Provincial rules ban it within 6 m of bus stops, SkyTrain stations and building doorways, near schools, and in any vehicle. Sidewalks away from those spots and private homes are generally allowed, though landlords and stratas can ban it. Flying out of YVR, the 30 g limit applies on domestic flights; international flights allow none. Illegal online shops that take e-transfer only or ship across Canada end up on our Red List.